All Torque 67

L AL E U Q R TO ECEMB ISSUE 67 D

LIVE AND BREATHE THE MARQUE CLUB WEBSITE & ONLINE RENEWALS AT WWW.TIPEC.NET

ER 2007

PORSCHE AD

3/4/07

15:00

Page 1

ALWAYS ORIGINAL

The last of the great 911s?

November 2006

May 2007

Special Collectors’ Edition

Special Collectors’ Edition January 2007

911 & PORSCHE WORLD SUBSCRIBERS RECEIVE SPECIAL COLLECTORS’ EDITION FRONT COVERS www.chpltd.com

020 8655 6400

TIPEC (0845 602 0052) www.tipec.net All Torque is published bi-monthly by The Independent Porsche Enthusiasts Club (TIPEC). All text & images are © their authors & photographers. Front cover image: 1988 928 S4 Auto at night under a blanket of snow by Clive Lusted.

All Torque is based entirely on submissions from TIPEC members.

This is your magazine and we need your involvement!

Send in running reports, Porsche-related stories, how-to articles … anything you think might interest other TIPEC members.

Please send text and images via email, or on CD/DVD (or paper!) to the address below.

Submissions for issue 68 (February) must be in before Friday 11th January 2008.

All Torque editor & designer Tony Blow tony@typescape.com Flat 1/1, 47 Greendyke Street, Glasgow G1 5PX Printed by The Lavenham Press Ltd, Suffolk (0178 724 7436) Advertising in All Torque is managed by TIPEC club office 10 Whitecroft Gdns, Woodford Halse NN11 3PY (0845 602 0052) TIPEC Chairman Sean Smallman (0778 965 7522) sean.smallman@tipec.net Vice Chairman Jim Hearnden (0793 035 3232) tr7v8@phaetonconsulting.co.uk Treasurer Rich Simpson (0771 158 1443) rich.simpson@tipec.net Advertising & Club Liason Clive Gosling (0788 150 0107) clive.gosling@tipec.net Gruppe North Director John Oakes (0113 282 7512) john.oakes3@btinternet.com Gruppe Central Director Eric Finley (0797 159 4211) eric.finley@tipec.net Gruppe South Director Derek Flanagan (0776 725 4820) derek.flanagan@varian.net All Torque & TIPEC are entirely independent of Dr. Ing. H.c.F. Porsche AG, Porsche Cars GB Ltd and its dealers. All registered Trade Marks owned by Dr. Ing. H.c.F. Porsche AG, including the word ‘Porsche’, the Porsche Crest and Porsche Script are acknowledged as such and are their property. Whilst all due care is taken in the production of All Torque; neither TIPEC, its officers or the editor can accept responsibility for the advice, information or opinions expressed herein. Opinions contained in any article published herein are of the author or editor and do not reflect the official position of TIPEC, its management or membership, unless clearly stated by a club official.

Chairman’s Chat Having just spent last weekend at the NEC Classic Car Show, the enthusiasm for the marque is stronger than it has ever been.

The Club stand was packed out from the minute the doors opened on Friday Morning to them closing on Sunday evening. John Brookes, Central Region RO, put together a club stand which we could all be proud of. It was very welcoming and informal. I would like to thank John and the members from Central Region and Scotland, who displayed their cars and talked Porsche with the public for the weekend.

To all those that joined over the weekend, welcome to TIPEC and I hope you all get involved regionally and make lots of new friends.

I must apologise for the website being over three weeks late and the inconvenience it caused especially for those wanting to renew on line.

It is now fully operational and the forum is very popular with over 100 users registered after the first week. The site is developing all the time, we are working from a standing start on this so please bear with us as it takes shape over the coming months. Jim Tarrant and Carl Rose have done a fantastic job in sorting out the bugs and they have lots of ideas for more features they would like to introduce.

TIPEC 2008 will be at the British Heritage Museum Gaydon on Sunday 3rd August. 2008 will be our 15th anniversary, we hope there will be enough support from the members to have a party on Saturday night before the show on Sunday. This is a very different style of venue and very different to the usual formula of Porsches in a field. Gaydon has an interactive museum, test track for parade laps, 4x4 track and go-karts to name but a few. Most of all if we are unfortunate to have a repeat of this year’s wet weather, there is lots to do indoors and the majority of the cars are on tarmac or hard standing. There will be more details about the show in the next issue of All Torque and on the website. Start saving now for what promises to be a great weekend of Porsche fun. In the meantime here there are plenty of details about the venue on their website at www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk Overall 2007 has been another year of significant change as we grow and improve the offer to our members and broaden our appeal to the Porsche community. We have a great club that we can all be proud of lets all make our anniversary year our best yet.

I wish you and your families a peaceful Christmas and wish you all the very best for 2008.

All Torque 67 page 3

Classic Porsches in the seventh Rally of the Tests

Jan Ebus & Lester Van der Zalm’s 356, finishing in sixth overall, third in its class In All Torque 66 we covered the Goodwood Revival, the UK’s most famous celebration of vintage and classic motorsport. The Rally of the Tests is widely considered to be ‘the Goodwood of historic rallying’, with over 80 historic rally cars taking part. The event ran over three days from 1st to 4th November, starting from Scarborough on the East coast, heading West and North to Darlington and Penrith before progressing in a long loop around the South of Scotland, then back down past Carlisle and finishing up at Blackpool.

The highest placed British Porsche of Neil Wilson & Willy Cave

In amongst the classic Mini Coopers, Alfa Romeos, Triumphs and Jaguars, were some interesting (and competitive!) Porsches: Keith Leckie and John Harbottle’s 912, four 911s and even three 356s. The first Porsche home was crewed by the Dutch team of Jan Ebus and Lester Van der Zalm, but the Brits put up a good fight, with our highest finishers (in 13th place overall) being the 356 of former works co-driver Neil Wilson, navigated

by Willy Cave, also an ex-works co-driver and now in his 80s!

One thing’s for sure: All the Porsches entered finished the rally in one piece—which can’t be said for most of the other marques involved this year! Huge thanks to Tony Large for his stunning photos.

TIPEC member discounts Unless otherwise stated, you just need to quote your TIPEC membership number.

All members receive free legal expenses cover.

Helpline 0870 830 3566 Policy number LEITIP07 A One Insurance Group http://www.aoig.co.uk/ Heritage Insurance 0845 811 8118 10% discount on service, labour and parts from some OPCs. Call first to check that they will offer this discount, not all OPCs do.

10% discount from Porscheshop www.porscheshop.co.uk Key in TIPEC (member no) in other info box and discount applied after sale. Card is debited in house and discount manually applied.

Berlyn Services parts 01492 583993 Discount on selected items 25% discount on 911 & Porsche World subscription Call Frankie (020 8655 6400) and quote your membership number. £13.05 discount on GT Purely Porsche subscription www.gtpurelyporsche.com

10% off Car bulbs/lights www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk Key in TIPEC10 at checkout 10% discount on Car Cleaning Products + free P&P http://www.gpwizard.co.uk/shop/ Key in TIPEC at checkout

10% discount on leather dyes 01582 499777 15% discount on Haynes manuals and books + free P&P 0800 917 1898 5% discount at Design 911 www.design911.com

German Swedish and French 020 8917 3898 10% discount

10% off used parts www.douglasvalley.co.uk

10–30% off mail order oil from www.opieoils.co.uk

10% off PCs & accessories www.pchealthcare.co.uk

5% discount on tyres www.blackcircles.com Quote PORSCHE1 when you checkout

Discounts on Servicing from independents Speak to your Regional Organiser

Carma concept This isn’t something you’re going to see on the roads anytime soon, but as a design exercise it’s smarter than your average student project. The Porsche Carma is the brianchild of four French students at the Institute Supérieur de Design in Valenciennes. As part of the fourth (and final) year of their course, they were asked to look at near-future supercar design and chose to use Porsche as their case study.

Based on a mid-mounted six-cylinder boxer engine, the Carma is mostly about aerodynamics. Twin Venturi tunnels run beneath the chassis and the bodywork itself incorporate two massive air vents which channel airflow over an inernal (under-body) spoiler at the 928-inspired rear.

Those vents open and close as required to increase and decrease downforce at varying speeds. It’s an interesting solution that removes the need for a huge external spoiler and permits a much sleeker aesthetic.

www.TIPEC.net A long time coming, but well worth the wait, our new club website is up and running.

Built from the ground up by Jim Tarrant and Carl Rose, the site puts TIPEC’s best side on show for the world.

You can use the website to register or renew your club membership, advertise (or buy!) cars and parts for free, download old issues of All Torque, and keep up-to-date with events in all of TIPEC’s regions.

If your French is up to it, you can read more at www.porschecarma.sup.fr

TIPEC vacancies Membership Secretary

Additionally, if you look to the bottom-left of the homepage, you will find a link to TIPEC’s brand-new online discussion forum. This is the place to trade banter with fellow club members on a day-to-day basis, ask questions and share knowledge with each other, up and down the UK (and worldwide!)

It’s simple to use and easy on the eye, so sign up and get involved—even if only to read what everyone else is talking about.

Required to process new members, send out membership packs, renewals and bank the cheques. This role takes on average two hours a week, full training and support will be given. This is a great way to get involved with the Club and talk to prospective members.

Regional Organisers Required Cambridge To hold monthly meetings at a local pub/hotel and with support of the members attend/organise local events.

East Anglia To hold monthly meetings at a local pub/hotel and with support of the members attend/organise local events.

Ireland We have quite a few members in Ireland, does anyone want to organise an annual get together? Maybe at a car show or a weekend away?

Wales As above If you would like to get involved venues and dates are not set in stone and can be changed to suit whoever is interested. If you are interested in any of the above roles then please contact Sean at Club Office.

All Torque 67 page 5

PORSCH-APART LTD Unit 4, Field Mill, Harrison St, Ramsbottom, Bury, Lancashire BL0 0AH (2 mins from J1 M66)

Tel 07000 924 944 or 01706 824 053 Mobile 07973 379 319 Fax 01706 824 655 enquiries@porsch-apart.co.uk www.porsch-apart.co.uk Porsch-apart is not associated with or approved by Porsche Cars GB Ltd Trim Boxster standard seats - black £250 pr 996 / Boxster black leather front seats £600 pr - 2 pairs in stock 996 / Boxster black ruffled leather front seats £500 pr 996 / Boxster sports seats, black leather from £800 px possible - 2 pairs in stock 996 / Boxster sports seats, boxster red leather £600 px possible large selection of brand new airbags from £200 996 Boxster 3 spoke steering wheel airbags - most colours in stock new and used from £250 instrumentation available for many models.

Over 40 996, Boxster door panels in stock & door air bags. ! Boxster & 996 seats - we have over 30 pairs in stock - please ring!

Wheels Boxster / 996 / cayman alloys Boxster 16” 6 + 7 used alloys £225 set Boxster 17” 7 + 8.5 Used alloys with tyres £550 set Boxster2.7 17” 7 + 8.5 Used alloys with tyres £550 set Boxster s 17” 7 + 8.5 Used alloys with tyres £550 set Boxster s facelift 17” 7 + 8.5 Used alloys with tyres £600 set Boxster 18” sport design (gt3) 7.5 + 9 Refurbished alloys £950 Boxster 18” sport classic ii 7.5 + 9 Refurbished alloys £800 Boxster 18” turbo ii 7.5 + 9 Refurbished alloys £900 Boxster 18” carrera 7.5 + 9 Refurbished alloys £900 Boxster 18” technology 7.5 + 9 Refurbished alloys £900 Boxster 04- (987) 17” alloys with tyres - delivery mileage £695 Boxster s 04- (987) 18” alloys with tyres - delivery mileage £1600 Cayman ‘s’ 18” 8 + 9 alloys with tyres - delivery mileage £1500 996 18” Carrera 8 + 10 alloys refurbished £900 996 18” technology 8 + 10 alloys refurbished £900 996 18” sport design (gt3) 8 + 10 alloys refurbished £950 996 18” sport classic ii 8 + 10 alloys refurbished £800 996 18” sport techno 8 + 11 alloys refurbished £1150 996 18” turbo ii solid spoke 8 + 11 alloys refurbished £1100 996 18” sport design (gt3) 8 + 10 wheels and tyres brand new genuine £1650 997 18” Carrera iii 8 + 10 alloys with tyres - delivery mileage £1495 997 19” Carrera ‘S’ 8 + 11 alloys with pirelli tyres -del miles- (new) £1800 997 19” sport design with tyres to fit 4s delivery mileage £1695 997 19” Carrera ‘s’ 8 + 11 alloys, pirelli tyres, delivery miles - to fit 4s £1695 997 19” Carrera classic 8 + 11 alloys, pirelli tyres, delivery miles £1695 Cayenne Cayenne 18” turbo alloys with tyres - delivery mileage £495 Cayenne 18” turbo alloys with tyres - used £300 Cayenne 18” ‘S’ alloys with tyres - delivery mileage £495 Cayenne 18” ‘S’ alloys with tyres - used £300 Cayenne 19” design alloys with tyres - used £750 Cayenne 20” sport techno alloys refurbished with new tyres £1675 Cayenne 20” sport design alloys refurbished with used tyres £1295 Cayenne 20” sport design alloys and tyres brand new £1750 Cayenne 20” sport design alloys and used tyres £995 924s / 944 / 968 alloys 15” teledial 924s 6” wide - new £90 each 16” design 90 6/7/7.5/8/9 Used from £60 each 16” cup 1 6/7/8 used from £75 each, refurbished £125 each 16” teledials 7/8 used from £50 each 964 / 993 alloys 16” cup 1 6/8 used - from £75 16” cup 2 7/9 used - from £75 17” cup 1 7/7.5/8/9 Refurbished from £200 each 17” cup 2 7/7.5/8/9 Refurbished from £200 each 18” 993 technology 8 + 10 to fit narrow body cars - refurbished £900 set 911 alloys Stock required especialy 6,7,8 & 9” fuch Panels 924 944 front bumpers from £60 924 944 doors £75 924 tailgate & spoiler £80 928 rear pu s4 £250 928 bonnet £150 928 doors £100 928 tailgate with glass £100 944 bonnets from £50 944 cabriolet doors new £400 or used £180 944 tailgate & spoiler £125 944 front wings all models from £90 968 rear o/s quarter panel new £295

968 bridge spoiler and hatch - very good condition £395 968 rear pu - from £150 911 3.2c o/s rear quarter for coupe - new £395 964 engine lid complete £345 964 993 wheel arch liners & undertrays poa 993 964 doors bare £250 993 rear pu from £225 993 front pu undertrays £25 993 engine lid complete £350 with spoiler 993 targa o/s rear quarter new £395 993 lhd doors new £400 each 993 turbo 4s o/s rear quarter panel - new £550 993 turbo 4s rear pu - used £350 pu support bar most models from £50 We now have over 200 new & used pu’s in stock - please ring with your requirements We now have a large selection of Cayenne new and used parts please ring Cayenne turbo bonnet used £400 turbo front bumper complete with grills £395 aerokit side sills complete kit brand new £450 aerokit side sills used pair £295 running boards used - with fitting kit £350 Mechanical 911 fuel tank guaranteed 2 yrs, exchange £295 911 turbo intercooler £100 924 used fuel tank - exchange £120 924 fuel tank ( pressure tested and coated ) exchange £195 924 fuel tank (refurbished with lifetime gurantee) exchange £295 928 S4 cylinder heads £250 928 S4 camshafts from £75 928 S4 auto gearbox 60k miles £495 944 S2 gearbox £550 944 S2 driveshafts £45 944 S2/turbo airflow meters £90 or new £225 944 8v turbo s2 ecu’s from £175 944 abs pumps £150 944 2.5 Engine £650 944 2.7 Engine £950 944 re-con alloy wishbones with 2yr guarantee (exchange) £175 944 alloy wishbone - used £70 944 T intercooler £95 944 S2 cat convertor £160 944 used steel fuel tank - exchange £120 944 steel fuel tank ( tested and coated ) exchange £195 944 steel fuel tank (refurbished with lifetime gurantee) exchange £295 968 engine 77k miles £1750 968 6 speed gearbox 49k miles £1295 968 re-con alloy wishbones with 2yr guarantee (exchange) £175 968 alloy wishbone - used £70 964 air flow meters £200 964 heat exchangers used £100 964 rear exhaust boxes £90 964 barrels piston heads etc £poa 964 oil tank - used £120 964 final silencer £165 993 oil tank £150 993 oil pipes £160 pair 993 oil thermostat £95 used, £180 new 993 headlamps complete £110 each Hardtops Boxster hardtops Various colours in stock Current stock includes - arctic silver, lapis blue, ocean blue meridian silver, basalt black, seal grey, guards red.

Painted to customers colour £995 Fitting kit £45 Delivery can be arranged 986 Boxster hardtop - new - guards red £1250 987 Boxster hardtop 2005 new - guards red £1695 987 Boxster hardtop 2005 used - guards red £1195 Boxter & 996 parts Boxster/996 bonnet badge and gasket genuine porsche £20 Boxster/996 wing used from £70 new £175 996 facelift wing used from £70 new £199 Boxster/996 bonnet used from £120 new £275 Boxster/996 front tub ( boot floor ) new £299 Boxster/996 front slam panel new £199 Boxster aerokit front pu new £295

Boxster front pu used £150 new £275 Boxster s front pu used £150 new £315 Boxster facelift 2002> front pu new £300 Boxster s facelift 2002> front pu new £345 996 front pu used £160 996 2002 front pu used £150 996 2002 rear pu used £150 996 GT3 2002 front pu new £695 996 Turbo front pu bare used £170 Boxster/996 bumper support bar used £50 Boxster/996 bumper support bar mounting tubes new each £15 Boxster rear pu used £150 new £285 996 rear pu used £125 996 turbo rear pu used £175 Boxster boot lid used £95 Boxster rear spoiler complete with mechanism used £140 Boxster/996 doors used £150 new £250 Boxster rear quarter new £495 Boxster rear quarter vents inc grille used £40 Boxster rear quarter vents 2003 new pair £150 996 cab n/s rear quarter £550 new 996 Turbo engine lid & spoiler £950 996 engine lid & spoiler used £120 996 Turbo aerokit rear spoiler & front lip £1650, painted to colour £1995 996 Turbo aerokit rear spoiler - new £1795 996 GT3 body kit - front pu, rear spoiler & sills - £1950 996 GT3 rear spoiler £995 996 GT3 2003> front pu new £1150 996 cabriolet aerokit rear spoiler with engine lid, also fits coupe £750 996 cabriolet / coupe rear spoiler, new £995 996 hardtop £800 997 hardtop £1500 Boxster/996 headlights amber indicator used each £90 Boxster rear lamps standard each £25 996 rear lights each £35 Boxster/996 side repeaters amber each £5 Boxster smoked light kit £570 ( front, rear, quadrants & side repeaters ) Boxster smoked headlights £400 pair 996 smoked headlights £549 pair Boxster smoked rear lights pair £115 996 smoke rear lights £210 each Boxster/996 side repeaters smoke pair £30 Boxster/996 front wing liner new £63 Boxster/996 radiator air guide new £47 996 3.4 Engine complete £4000 exchange 986 996 short shift kit £120 Boxster 5 speed gearbox £750 996 C2 gearbox used - 29k miles - £1800 996 C4 manual gearbox £1500 996 C4s gearbox 1k miles £2950 996 C4s gearbox 12k miles £2750 996 C4 2002> tiptronic gearbox new £2950 986 996 short shift kit £120 Boxster 2.5 Back box used £80 Boxster 3.2s back box used £110 Boxster brake calipers 2.5 Set of four used £400 996 brake calipers set of four used £400 996 C4 silver calipers - del milage only - £595 set of four Boxster/996 abs pump used £150 Boxster/996 a/c pump new £295 Boxster/996 radiator new £120 Boxster/996 radiator fans new £90 used £60 Boxster/996 rad fan cowl £15 Boxster/996 radiator frames used each £30 new £60 Boxster/996 a/c radiator £90 used or new £169 Boxster/996 o/s window reg new £110 996 exhaust boxes used £75 each 996 Turbo exhaust and cats £400 Most suspension parts available used.

996 Turbo rear shocks - new £120 each Boxster roll bars in arctic silver £99 997 987 parts available - please ring Various electronic services available for 986 996 993Air bag warning light reset Service light reset Enable on board computer Permanent mph from kph Door self locking options etc - please ring Vat to be added to all prices prices subject to change without notice

Restoration begets restoration As the evenings lengthen, and winter takes its hold, the saddest advert in the ‘for sale’ section of any classifieds in the world is the one containing the phrase ‘unfinished project’.

Don’t let it be you. Big project or small: bare-shell re-imagining, rolling restoration (that’s mine!) or niggling minor fault on an otherwise serviceable car. We all set our own standards for what’s acceptable, and you can only ignore things for so long.

Work on your Porsche just a little each week, visit it in the garage or on the drive each day. Gaze at it; let it make you smile. Climb into the driver’s seat and close the door behind you while you place your feet on the pedals, your hands on the steering wheel and gear knob. At times when I haven’t had any of those things in place, I have sat on a spare wheel placed where the driver’s seat isn’t, held one hand in the space where in a just and balanced world, a Momo Prototipo should rightly be, and in the other hand held the top of that essential item in anyone’s toolkit: the great big wooden screwdriver that I can’t remember buying, but which has always been in my tool kit, taking the place of the gear-stick still to come.

You have a screwdriver like that, too. I know you have. You think it might have been your Dad’s, or his Dad’s even, but it’s bent and the handle’s cracked and the edges of the tip have rounded off. There’s gloss paint on the shank from when it was used to stir the paint for the skirting boards and you have sworn not to whack it with a hammer any more, because that crack on the handle is going to open-up and the wood will fall into two pieces. But that won’t stop you whacking it with a hammer anyway, then repairing the damage with whatever bonding or filling chemical you have half a tin of in the shed and binding it with duct tape. A similar repair was done, circa 1958 using horse glue, bound with hairy string … and that repair lasted until the last time you showed it insufficient respect and whacked it with the big recoilless lump-hammer because it was closer to hand than the rubber mallet you should have reached for.

Restoration begets restoration, and never getting around to cleaning the dust off the dashboard leads to never learning to MIG weld or not getting the preparation work done for that re-spray. So, even if you don’t feel like doing so. Just stand alongside your Porsche, or squat down so that your viewpoint matches that favourite poster in your mind’s eye. Just one effort per day. Then see how these tiny seeds of motivation grow. In the same way, ideas beget ideas, and it’s while you are labouring away at re-assembling that door panel that you will realise which item demanding your attentions is driving you mad enough to be next on the list.

If you’re a one for physical lists, write down the jobs remaining, but beware of this if you are feeling that the size of the job is already insurmountable: laying it out on a page (or several) could be just daunting enough to tip you over the edge and have you writing that advert. What you will miss out on by not writing out a list is the grin-inducing satisfaction of ticking items off it as you complete them … or better still, crossing though them by pressing just a bit too hard and a few too many times with a biro, obliterating that item simultaneously from your restoration history and from your mental stresses. This is also why you should take photos as you progress—the act of photographing each job at the ‘before’, ‘during’ and ‘after’ stages can be hugely depressing at the time you do it—why would you want to record how big a task you lumbered yourself with by buying this money-pit? But the pain only lasts until the job is done, and pain is never so severe in retrospect.

Those photographs are potentially pure gold when you come to value the product of your labours, whether for insurance purposes (you do cover your pride and joy on an agreed value basis, don’t you?) or for the altogether less traumatic advertisement text; ‘beautifully finished car for sale due to arrival of new project’, with all that holds of the excitement, anticipation and promise of glorious days spent making ‘bruuuuummmmm’ noises in the garage, bum perched on spare wheel, gear-hand gripping a knackered old screw driver.

Writing & photgraphy by Carl Rose

All Torque 67 page 7

Dyno day at Weltmeister Before I started my love affair with Porsche my weekend toy was a Golf MK1 GTI Cabriolet. I was a member of Club GTI, Dyno days were a regular feature in Rabbit the club magazine. I often wondered what was the appeal of this type of event? The reports never explained what actually happens, the performance results were published along with a comment from the owners who were nearly always quoted as saying: “I was well pleased with that”.

When Richard Salmons, South Central member, organised an event with Weltmeister in the grounds of Silverstone circuit, I had the opportunity to find out. The lure of a burger van and the opportunity to spend a day looking and talking Porsche was too good to miss. More importantly I would be able to see if my S2 cab had lost any power over the 15 years and 88,000 miles she had covered.

20 cars had a space booked on the dyno, which was referred to as ‘the rollers of truth’ for the day. An interesting mix of cars had assembled from a 996TT to a 924T, a bunch of 944Ts and S2s. A couple of Porsche owners brought along their daily drivers instead to see how they would perform. We were also joined by several 944 owners who pitched up to enjoy the atmosphere and catch up with old friends.

The day got underway with the owner of Weltmeister, Chris Davies, giving a brief introduction and explaining that the Dyno is calibrated to handle over 1,000 bhp.

He talked through the safety requirements and what can go wrong. Chris answered questions, explaining that he would be running the cars in third gear and that the figures indicate the power that is produced at the flywheel. The car would complete runs until he gets two consecutive power figures within one bhp of each other. Some cars achieve this after a couple of runs some take as many as 12.

Rick Cannell was also in attendance. For those that don’t know Rick, he is a 944 nut and owns a 944T which pushes out over 400 bhp. Rick hosts a web site (www.cannell.co.uk) which has lots of Porsche information, pictures from events and helpful

Mark Savings’ ear-splittingly loud 996TT strapped down and ready to go downloads, all provided free of charge. The site has a 944 league table which charts the performance from Dyno Days and lists all the modifications fitted to each car. Rick worked non-stop throughout the day scanning dyno print outs and compiling the results.

The first car to brave the rollers was an Audi RS4.

At five meters away you really have to cover your ears. Chris gunned the V8, which screamed to an impressive 436 bhp. The confined space makes the engine sound like it could let go at any moment, spitting metal and oil all over the bay. Chris knows what he is doing and clearly enjoys his vocation, with had a big grin on his face as he wound her up to another ear-splitting crescendo. The crowd cheered after each run was completed, eagerly awaiting the figures that were displayed live on a LCD monitor.

First up for the Porsches was Richy’s barn find, a 944T which had not run for seven years prior to him buying it.

He spent the summer months painstakingly bringing this limited edition Silver Rose Turbo back to life. This must have been a daunting moment for him as the loud pedal was pressed firmly into the carpet for the first time.

A huge cheer went up from the crowd and a beaming smile followed the final result of 245 bhp. Several 944Ts followed and all were producing results that their respective owners had hoped for. Porsches really are built to last with all the cars achieving over 250 bhp and a couple of the more modified cars in the three-hundreds.

Mark Savings was next up with his 996TT after he had disconnected the front wheels (a Porsche advisory) from the four wheel drive system. Mark decided he wanted to experience the dyno from inside the car. This proved to be a cunning move as the 3.6 twin turbocharged engine sounded like a jet taking off when the taps were opened. I thought the Audi was loud but this six-pot produced a whooshing noise that made us all move further away. The result was a very impressive 480bhp, no wonder every time I see him he is always smiling.

My turn to face the rollers of truth finally arrived and I have to admit I was not entirely comfortable with what was about to happen. It was the same sickening feeling you get when you go for an MOT. Would the engine let go? Would I be the first owner of the day to have lost lots of those precious horses? It was now too late to change my mind as I took my position in front of the screen. I crossed my fingers and glanced up to the heavens for some positive intervention. Chris looked up and the first run was underway, I cringed as the engine note began to rise. A huge sigh of relief and a clenched fist of delight met

Mike Homes’ 944 S2 on the rollers of truth the 211 bhp figure that flashed up. That’s ok for starters I thought as I received a few thumbs up and nods of approval from the gang. Three further runs followed before the car was un-tethered from the anchors, having achieved a respectable 215.5 bhp. Porsche publish a figure of 211 bhp for the S2, and the only non standard modification fitted to the car is a ProMax performance chip.

I would say that dyno days are probably one for the boys.

The sound and smell of heavily revved engines plus the level of banter which only happens when you get a bunch of lads together made for a thoroughly enjoyable day. On behalf of the guys I would like to thank Richy for organizing the day and Rick for compiling the data. As for the performance of my cabby the only thing I can think to say is:

“I was well pleased with that.”

Writing by Sean Smallman & photography by Mike Holmes

All Torque 67 page 9

TIPEC at the NEC Sean Smallman reports back from biggest show of the year, with photos by Kevin Day and Paul Bird.

The NEC Classic Motor Show is regarded by many as the end of season finale. The last opportunity in 2007 for petrolheads to drool over metal and to buy the bits we need to improve our Porsches over the winter months.

There are five halls, including the MPH show, to get around so if you do plan on going in 2008 give yourself plenty of time and wear comfortable shoes. Another tip would be to bring your own

food, the prices at the show were ridiculous: £6 for a cheeseburger and nearly £3 for a large coffee!

As in previous years the Club had a display at the show. This was organised by John Brookes, RO for the Central Region. The seven Porsches on the TIPEC stand looked magnificent: beautifully detailed, ready to wow the visitors. We also had a great position in the coveted Hall four, the first stand you see upon

Amazing paintwork on this Karmann Ghia from the Meguiars stand

entrance and opposite the Buggatti Owners Club, who had a Veyron and an even more valuable 1925 supercharged 35B on display.

From the second the doors opened to the public we were busy talking Porsche and that continued right the way through to Sunday evening when the show closed.

The informal layout of the stand meant that the public could get close to the cars and chat to the owners. The comfy seating area

The new French PGO Speedster, based on the shape of a classic 356

The NEC Classic Motor Show is probably the last time many classic cars will leave the garage until the spring next year. Car clubs exhibit at The Classic Motor Show to promote their club/marque, to secure new members, to sell club regalia and simply because it’s a great opportunity to meet friends old and new while showing off some spectacular cars! If you are looking to buy a classic then, before you do, it is well worth talking to the club specific to your car of choice for advice. Most clubs also benefit from discount parts and insurance schemes for their members and have regular events and social scenes of their own. With around 170 clubs exhibiting each year, The Classic Motor Show is THE place to find and join the club for you!

Mark Chiltern’s 993 Evolution on the TIPEC stand, surrounded by trophies

A lovely old rally liveried Renault on the Meguiars stand

Another from the Meguiars stand: A well polished wood panelled hot rod

Rover 3500S ‘jam sandwich’ from the Police Vehicle Enthusiasts Club

was welcome relief for those that needed to get their puff back, have a chat, or stop to eat lunch.

On the stand we had Mark Chilton from Club Autosport’s 993 Evolution. He will be racing this car in the Porsche Open Championship next season. Contact John Brookes for exclusive pit lane passes if you would like to go and watch any of the races. Rob Bird’s stunning 911 LE Turbo was credited with being one of the

top 10 cars of the show by racing legend Tim Harvey (Porsche Cup) and was filmed for a DVD of the show.

We also briefly had a spot of glamour when Channel 4’s film crew for 10 Years Younger with blonde presenter Nicky HumbletonJones doing a piece to camera whilst sitting on John’s 911. Nicky managed to get a few pulses racing and some of us wishing that we were 10 years younger!

In summary the show was a fantastic success for TIPEC. The quality of our display has raised our profile even higher within the Porsche community.

That was reflected in a club record for the number of members signing up at a show and the 500 copies of All Torque that we gave away.

A very big thank you from all of us to John and the team and I look forward to seeing you at next year’s show.

The first thing visitors saw when entering the show: Kevin Tocher’s gleaming 964 front and centre of the well laid out (and spacious) TIPEC stand Writing & photography as credited above

All Torque 67 page 11

York to Silverstone by 912 In 1986 Norwich Union and the Motor Sports Association joined forces with the intention of organizing a ‘modest event for likeminded classic car owners’. 450 classic car owners started from three different locations, finishing at Silverstone. In 1997 over 1,700 participants followed 14 routes through France, Ireland, Wales and England.

The event ran 15 times over different routes, finishing at different venues until 2001 when foot and mouth outbreaks brought a stop to proceedings. On 14 October 2007 the original organizing team, sponsored again by Norwich Union, revived the popular and highly successful event format but limited entries to 600 starters from five different start venues: Silverstone; Bath; Norwich; Epsom and York and to cars built before 31st December 1986. To the surprise, and delight, of the organizers, all 600 places had been filled within three weeks of the regulations being published.

Just before the turn onto the A1 and the formal route we were directed along an amended route owing to road works. At Clumber we were directed to a cordoned off parking area where a rather smart Ferrari seemed to have a problem with a pile of leaves … oil from its sump was dripping into the leaves, probably as a result of troppo brio along a very straight road marked as ‘bumpy’ between Sandford and the B1396.

Carolyn and I started from York After Clumber Park, where most after a fairly hectic early morning seemed to take advantage of the start from south of the Humber stop for refreshments and a leg Bridge. As the car park slowly stretch, the route headed generally filled up, six other Porsches, from south towards Southwell, Radcliffe a 1955 356 to the ubiquitous 911 on Trent to finish at Donington variants, joined us. (The only 914 GP Museum. By now the weather on the run had morphed into a had improved and the sun was Our final destination: Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix TR6 owing to an unplanned oil shining … but that brought out leak.) After documentation and a those modern, air-conditioned versions cup of coffee at the National Railway Museum we were flagged off to of our classics, occupants nicely sealed and deaf to drive through York city limits where a suicidal peacock almost caused an the musical sounds of our engines. We drove through accident with Carolyn stopping suddenly … (the Alpine that should have small Nottinghamshire villages and were greatly been two minutes behind us was somewhat slower and tested his brakes heartened by the inhabitants of one, Edingley, who even more harshly!) Still, the peacock survived, but nerves were slightly were obviously opposed to having those dreadfully frayed inside the 912. The weather had not improved and was still damp noisy and inefficient windmills spoiling their wonderful and misty as we drove southwards through Yorkshire’s minor roads. We views. The countryside around these delightful did cross into North Lincolnshire for a short while, with a slight showing villages was stunning and made us wish we could of sun, towards the first ‘rest halt’ at Clumber Park 75 miles from the afford to live there … but ever onwards, followed by start line. A short ‘comfort break’ near Howden put us behind a number and following a myriad of classic cars across scenery of participants, but on classic runs such as this that was not a problem … already changing to its autumnal clothing. there was no timing, just opening and closing times at the rest halts. This lack of timing allows for either gentle meandering, or hectic motoring, We arrived at Donington in time for lunch. The large whichever suits the crew. With Carolyn driving, we tend towards the car park already had a smattering of Porsches (all former, but it means she can look out of the windscreen at the scenery 911s of various models), a V8 4 litre engined Morris whilst I decipher the Road Book and pass route instructions to her.

Minor, a Triumph Italia and the usual gallimaufry

Our 1966 912 SWB Coupé, No. 638 … proudly parked up outside Silverstone’s garages

of MGBs, Jaguars and TRs. Neither of us was interested in visiting the museum (no rally cars) so we enjoyed the sunshine and ducked whenever Easyjet’s B737s flew overhead from the nearby Castle Donnington airfield. (We know one of its Captains …)

After lunch we progressed even further south, heading for the Heritage Centre at Gaydon, a spot well known to us through TR Register meetings and HRCR Open Days. We therefore decided not to dally, but check in and out and head for Silverstone. But that plan was to change … We continued southwards through Warwickshire and the National Forest, enjoying the scenery as we went (well the driver was, the navigator was keeping his eyes well down on the pages of the excellently produced Road Book).

Charnwood Forest, Thornton Reservoir and on towards the almost arrow straight and classic road, the Fosse Way; a road very well known to us as we use it frequently on our trips to Gloucestershire and Somerset to visit family members in those remote parts of England.

The Porsche purred happily on, but the driver began to feel the need for a leg stretch and a stop was made in the very picturesque village of Brinklow.

After 211 miles of excellent roads, superb scenery and delightful weather, we had arrived. We drove through the pneumatic arch to pick up our finishers’ awards and the usual yellow Norwich Union ‘goody bag’ … and then on to the circuit. Well, not quite. A couple of photographs for the album and a driver swap for the obligatory two lap ‘cruise’ around the GP circuit, not above 70 mph. I still wonder how drivers of single seat cars manage to find their way around a circuit without a navigator, but now I can add Silverstone to Macau, the Nurburgring and ‘Rest and be Thankful’ … and, lest I forget, Nakuru circuit in Kenya where my obsession with motor sport began.

The lack of timing allows for either gentle meandering or hectic motoring, whichever suits.

Parking at Gaydon for a quick cup of tea for Carolyn and something else for me, we joined a never-ending queue being served by a single assistant desperately trying to keep up with demand. All for an exorbitantly priced tea bag in a pot of hot water and a cup of chocolate, both from a machine. Then away to Silverstone and, we hoped, a little more substantial fodder. The last section, all of 29 miles, took crews through some delightfully named Buckinghamshire villages: Temple Herdewyke; Fenny Compton; Wormleighton; Aston le Walls; Culworth (site of battle in 1429); Weedon Lois; Wappenham and ultimately, Silverstone, where the driver felt great disappointment to see a certain Bentley T2 driving away as we arrived.

And that was that. No substantial fodder was on offer and all seemed very flat at the end, but the cars still kept on coming in. Most seemed to have finished, although we did spot one just outside Silverstone beside an RAC van … but pointing away from the circuit, so presumably a finisher. For those who missed out this year: get your entries in early (but not before me) and worry not about following the route. The road book was 1/10th mile perfect and very easy to read and follow. Descriptions of junctions were allied to names of shops and petrol stations to ease the job of the navigator and orange arrows pointed out the way to go where the organizers felt that there could be some difficulty identifying the correct road.

What a great way to enjoy one’s classic. We continued further south and ended up in France for a couple of day’s rest. Nice to drive the Porsche on the right side of the road …

Writing & photography by Brod Purdy

All Torque 67 page 13

Protect and preserve your Porsche Now that winter is upon us, many owners will be selective about when their car is used and some will be put away until the gritters have ceased operating. Thoughts turn to protecting the car, and consideration of car covers, dehumidifiers, air chambers or bags or even sending the car away for storage. Given the state of our summer this year, many of these considerations are equally valid all year round.

So, what to do?

Firstly I’ll be making sure my own Porsche is fully protected with a couple of late coats of wax and the wheels also waxed. I use a product called RimWax which is made for the job. I’ll also probably wash it more often than in summer as not only does it look terrible in winter, but it will wash the road salts off.

From the left: Breathable cover, soft indoor cover and custom fit indoor cover … all on proper cars!

Simple indoor car covers, either a general fit for your size of car or fully custom made cover in matching colours to your paintwork can be supplied by several companies, including my own, CarCoverShop.co.uk In fact, we supply most things, as the title of this piece is our motto! I’ve always said in these articles that natural materials are usually best, so I recommend cotton covers, as they won’t scratch and will allow air to get to the car.

I don’t like cheap nylon ones for these reasons.

Indoor covers will keep dust off, prevent knocks, scrapes and accidents, but won’t keep cats off!

A standard fit cover costs about £80–90.

A flexible alternative is a breathable cover, useful inside and out all year round, again standard or custom fit. They are usually silver, so reflect UV and whilst they do let a tiny amount of water in heavier storms, it soon breathes out again. My 944 Turbo collects a nice puddle on the rear deck which freezes when its really cold, so they do work ! They pack up quite small so are good to leave on your car at airports or at shows, costing around £100 a go. You can put them on a wet car, though must ensure it is fairly clean.

Totally waterproof covers cannot be put on a wet car, otherwise they may sweat, so are really more suited to long term storage. Thus, they will need to be sturdy and tie down well, but may be the best things for projects turfed outside or if you don’t have a garage.

If you don’t have a garage, or the loan of one, you can buy inflatable bubbles for around £400 which you drive the car onto, zip up around it and inflate.

Take care it doesn’t scratch when you inflate first time as you have to lay the material on your roof (stick a blanket on it temporarily) and allow a little for running costs. Rigid frame alternatives like AirChambers cost about £450 (more on these later) but are only suitable for indoors. You need much more rigid systems like Autopod for outdoor use, around £400. These are effectively temporary garages.

AirChambers are rigid-framed products using a fan to blow up to 50,000 litres of drying air around a sealed clear storage chamber (with zips so you can get in) similar to the non-rigid Carcoon, which cost about £50 less, though I consider the rigidity worth the extra cost. Allow £20 a year to run. The more floppy zip-up but inaccessible Permabag, which relies on desiccant bags to dry the air out, also costs about £350. These are serious specialist kit, effectively combining an airborne dust, mould, moisture and physical threat solution.

Dehumidifiers have long been used to create a dry-air environment in a garage, and provided its a fairly well built one, can keep rust at bay without working too hard. You can generally set the level of humidity you’re prepared to accept, and if you select a unit with continuous drain and auto-restart if there’s a power failure, you can stick one in your garage and forget about it. When they’re not working they consume only half a lightbulb’s worth of electricity, and cost up to 10p an hour working flat out.

Suitable units start from under £200, at which price we recommend the X-Dry desiccant dehumidifiers, which works by drying out a water-attracting plate and provides only heat and water as a result, or hot gas dehumidifiers, the best being manufactured by Mitsubishi. Expect to pay about 50% more for these.

Coupled with a cover you’d then have good all round protection from airborne and physical threats to your pride and joy.

Finally, an honest plug for our Door Protector Pads.

Simply, if you’ve ever opened your car door onto the wall and chipped it, it may not be too late to buy a discrete 100x50cm self adhesive foam pad to save you from doing it again.

For more information trawl the web or see our new site www.carcovershop.co.uk.

TIPEC member Mark Wibberley runs Race Glaze Ltd (www.raceglaze.co.uk), the Club’s 2007 and 2008 Pride of Ownership Sponsor. His 944 Turbo sits outside under a breathable cover.

A rigid-framed AirChamber for the highest level of protection. Zip-up entrances on each side and at the front.

Writing & photography by Mark Wibberley

All Torque 67 page 15

My first Porsche (on a budget) Following up on Jamie McNeill’s 911SC restoration report in our last issue, Jamie explains in more detail how he acheived such a spotless result on a tight budget, with a little common sense and help from both friends and fellow TIPEC members.

I had thought about Porsches for a long time and I had almost forgotten about the idea of owning one before having one last look, simply because I was misinformed that they are hellishly expensive to run, you can never find a good one and when things go wrong you can’t even find the bits to fix it! None of it is true but I’m sure we’ve all heard it before.

I had done my research and felt that I went with the correct approach to buying my car by getting an independent check, HPI and so on before purchasing and rebuilding, but for those prospective or new Porsche owners, the following may be useful advice.

It certainly would have saved me a lot of time and effort. I wish I could say that my hair loss was also caused by the restoration, but that’s another story …

Jamie’s 1981 911SC. From purchase to fully restored in less than a year, it IS possible!

Buying the car I looked at several cars, asked a few questions and read a few books before taking the plunge. I found my car on Autotrader and, like most 911s, it was in London. After a few phone calls, e-mails and pictures I decided to have an inspection done by Bob Watson Engineering in Oxon (a few miles away from the seller). A few things came up, but nothing unusual or out of the ordinary for a 25 year old car.

I decided to make my final decision upon viewing and arranged a visit to tie in with a business meeting (meaning that if it turned out bad I could still fly home for free!)

The car drove fantastically the whole 385 miles home, albeit with the heater stuck on hot and a faulty light switch that kept flashing at people. Once home I fully cleaned the car, changed the oil and wrote a list: • • • • •

umber plate light not working n heater stuck on hot & no front or rear fan function fully clean and service engine replace all heater pipework full suspension geometry check

I took my car to Brian Miller Motors in Edinburgh for a check over.

The heating system was overhauled. Exhaust and heat exchangers were new so no work needed there. All was put back in working order with the addition of a new fresh air blower at the front.

Two months later As a fair few of us will know the Porsche bug is an easy one to catch and things soon started to move fast. After a few miles I started to really enjoy this car. People would comment on how good it looked and how well it drove, but unfortunately also about the rust starting on the front wing, the ill fitting trim on the rear bumper and the under-paint blistering starting on the rear quarter!

After looking through various Porsche magazines and looking at friends’ cars, I decided that I would be happy if I refurbished it a little, possibly by tidying up the interior. Perhaps a bit of painting and addressing the areas that needed attention too … and maybe, well, you can see where this was going. According to anyone who knows me, I was only kidding myself by saying that just a couple of wee jobs would be enough.

Two weeks later the car was stripped bare inside with the outside following the next week.

Refurbishing the interior The interior in my car is sport spec full leather and to be fair was in pretty good condition. To start with however, it was removed along with everything else and the work began in earnest. I first painted the floor matt black (once all carpets and seats were removed), then stripped back and tidyied all wiring under the dash (patience required!)

Next, I replaced the steering wheel, repairing or replacing any damaged trim or switches along the way, and fully refurbished the seats; firstly by fitting a new bolster on the drivers side, and then stripping and cleaning before re- dying it, finally re-sealing the leather and painting the rails. Phew!

All the parts I removed had to be kept somewhere …

I also took this opportunity to replace the main carpets, clean the existing ones and put a light scattering of sound deadening in. Any chip marks or scuffs were repaired before being finished off with stainless steel side sills, a Porsche gearknob and metal pedals. To my delight carbon fibre foot rests replaced the original wooden ones perfectly.

The exterior: rust removal & respray The general exterior appearance of my car was okay, however attention was needed to the front wing, rear quarters and bumpers, so the car was fully stripped to a bare shell. Next the windows were removed and then all parts marked and put into boxes (good tip here is to take photos and write notes for re-fitting). Once the shell was stripped I took the car back to bare metal, replaced the front wing, fitted new sill sections and cut out two sections from the rear quarters and had new metal expertly fitted. Firstly, three coats of primer then three coats of paint were applied to complete the refurb.

As I found to my peril, 911s tend to rust in common areas; these being the front wings, rear quarters, sills, kidney bowls, scuttle panels and bumpers (to name a few). This can be expensive as second-hand wings can command upwards of £300. Finding a good bodyshop can also be an issue. Fortunately, parts are all available and may not be as expensive as you fear as long as you are prepared to shop around a bit. TIPEC is a great place to start as our members share lots of knowledge on suppliers as well as invaluable hints and tips, all needed to keep you from mortgage arrears!

More on the interior Again for the interior most parts are available, although some places were charging like a wounded bull. For example I had to pay £35 for an interior mirror second hand. Most 911s of this age will require refurbishment to seats and the carpets replaced. The latter is easily made better by simply cleaning the carpets and replacing the main four.

In addition, a skilled upholsterer can repair split seats and worn seat bolsters. There are even companies now who can fill holes in dashboards, repair cracks and so on.

Again, due to the car’s age there can be a few stray wires hanging from under the dash which can be made to look far better with a simple tidy up. As before, mention this to someone in the club and chances are they can assist you, or put you in touch with someone who can.

Rebuilding the car Once the paint was applied by the bodyshop, I had the task of rebuilding the car from a shell.

Firstly I called RAC autoglass to re-fit the windows (I had cracked the windscreen upon removal), then I fitted all parts, trims and panels back on to the car.

Next came re-wiring the electrical system, including fitting the fully stripped headlights (a nightmare to re-build). Following this was the full interior rebuild.

This is where I found the parts all marked in boxes a bonus, as well as the ever helpful Alan Neilson (TIPEC Scotland’s ARO). Without his help I may have tipped over the edge into insanity. I was also aided by Brian at Brian Miller Motors in Edinburgh. Brian is a bit of a character with a huge knowledge of the marque and probably saved me from countless re-build mistakes.

Overview I had fun doing this project and found that if you are prepared to shop around for parts you can save quite a few pounds. The bodyshop let me strip and prepare my car for painting on their premises and partly re-build it there too. This greatly reduced my overall bill. The interior was also done by myself (except the bolster, made and fitted by a friend), proving that if you are prepared to get your hands dirty you can complete all the work on a moderate budget.

From bare shell to re-built and passing its MOT took two weeks. Prior to this all the other work took a much longer 10 months due to my cost effective approach. Now I have a very tidy 911 which is fully re-furbished (the engine and wheels done by a previous owner) and ready to be enjoyed!

Thanks to: Brian Millar Motors, Edinburgh (for mechanical & electrical work, plus general advice). James Blair Bodyshop, Falkirk (for all advice & a job well done). Alan Neilson, TIPEC Scotland ARO (for helping with electrics & the re-build)

Writing & photography by Jamie McNeill

All Torque 67 page 17

A winter brake As with most projects, this started with an off-the-cuff remark at our monthly, tyre kicking, TIPEC club meeting, this time about the drum/disc brakes on my 1980 924.

There was nothing wrong with current set up unless I was trying to outbrake a 944 Turbo that I’d got a little too close to, I just felt that a beefier four wheel disc arrangement would deliver that extra ‘bite’. It would also mean moving from the four stud mounting to the more flexible five stud hubs.

Fortunately a club member had sourced all the necessary parts for a similar project but hadn’t done the conversion (I soon realised why). The parts had come from a 1986 924S and comprised front hub/ brake assemblies, the assembled rear end with torque tube, swinging arms, plus hub and brake assembly for the rear, complete with drive shafts and handbrake cables. A deal was struck and since the job was planned to keep me occupied over the winter, I decided to photograph everything from every angle I could think of. That, and labelling or keeping parts in containers marked O/S and N/S was an absolute godsend when it came time for reassembly.

Work on the front assembly went reasonably well.

The usual problems with dismantling rusted pins, springs and callipers were encountered. One pin refused to budge and even releasing oil, diesel, heat and brute force refused to move it. A small angle grinder was employed to cut through the pin then I drilled out the remains from the calliper, very carefully. A bugger of a job but it had to be done. I cut a new pin from a piece of similar diameter steel, went to work with a ballpeen hammer to form a domed end, then drilled a small hole to accept the sprung retaining clip. The parts were sandblasted, painted and reassembled with the bearings cleaned and repacked and discs and pads fitted. Luckily the pistons on both front callipers moved smoothly and the seals were in good condition. Second-hand discs were obtained from another club member, with barely a couple of thousand miles of wear, which only needed the surface rust taken off with a sander. As with the rest of the assembly, a coat of heat resistant enamel brought them up a treat.

With the two fronts finished and lying gleaming on the bench, I turned to the rear telling myself it was all downhill from here. WRONG! What faced me was the complete rear suspension, trailing arms, hubs, brakes and drive shafts, all assembled. It had taken two very strong men to just lift it. Remember, this unit had been removed from a 1986 924S and had languished in a barn for a long time. I had thought that I would only need the trailing arms and hub/brake parts. Very wrong! As investigations and discussions went on, it became clear that the entire rusting pile that lay before me would have to go on.

As anyone will tell you, disassembling parts that are old and have not moved for a long period takes time and patience.

Front hubs refurbished and ready to fit Corrosion eats away at all the parts, seemingly welding everything to its neighbour.

Porsches are made of stern stuff though and with releasing fluid and persuasion all things are possible.

Except those large nuts which secure the hub to the end of the driveshafts. A breaker bar of ridiculous length was employed. These nuts are torqued up to an amazing level with the car on its wheels, but this assembly was already removed from the donor car, so there was no vehicle weight to balance the force required. Luck was on my side for one nut. The brakes were seized on (for once thank God for rust!) and the nut loosened. Unfortunately the other side was free to turn and no amount of wedging, bracing or ingenuity could move it. Back to the small angle grinder, and with breath held and biting through my bottom lip I started to slice through the nut, parallel to the drive shaft, on a course that would just miss the threads of the driveshaft. Success, but a sticky moment!

The major parts, trailing arms with hubs, brakes and drive shafts, were removed from the suspension to allow them The rear assembly as purchased was a little worse for wear to be taken into the garage. The torque tube was covered and left beside the garden hut. It was easier to have manageable chunks to work on.

Virtually all the surface rust and corrosion on the trailing arms came off with a wire brush. Bearings and seals were gently removed and all traces of old grease removed in a paraffin basin. The bearings seemed hardly worn so fresh grease was packed in.

New standard pads were bought for the rebuild. The handbrake assembly, although rusted solid, cleaned up well. I tackled each rear hub separately to make sure I put it back together the right way. Fat lot of use that turned out to be. I still got it wrong when the handbrake only worked on one wheel! More dismantling and fixing.

Driveshafts and CV joints were similarly dismantled, marking and scoring parts so they went back correctly. Reassembling the CV joints? Now there’s a story. First one clicked together a treat, (must have been a fluke), second one in a few hours and the other two fairly easily. Liberal amounts of black goo CV grease and cleaned up boots.

On to the torque tube itself: and yes, I chickened out.

I didn’t dismantle it fully. I replaced all the Nyloc nuts and bolts with new, cleaned and black enamel painted everything in sight, made sure the height adjustment and toe-in surfaces were smooth and free, but I stopped there.

Putting it all back together was great, all those shiny bits on the garage floor ready for installing in the car.

With the car firmly sitting on four axle stands, removing the original front and rear assemblies was straightforward. Offering the complete rear suspension and hub assemblies with handbrake cables up to the car took three trolley jacks and slow inching until the bolt holes lined up. Threading the handbrake cable through to the lever while the torque tube still has a few inches to go is the easiest way.

Reassembly can be trickier than the initial strip-down It all fitted!

Goodridge stainless steel hoses all round and new copper piping to complete the build. After a lot of bleeding and nipping up the odd joint to cure weeps, the brakes felt tight and strong.

With the car back on the ground it was time to realign the wheels, checking height and toe-in. This took longer than the installation but it’s got to be right. A big thanks here to our club member Martin.

His expertise on the 924 and his famous ‘string & can’ system for suspension and steering adjustment worked brilliantly. Perhaps the topic of a future article.

But, and there’s a big ‘but’ here, the brake pipe work on a standard 924 is such that the front brakes are connected separately to the diagonally opposite rear brake. Known as an ‘X’ style to allow balanced braking if one brake circuit should fail. Having now fitted 924S/944 brakes/hubs with increased braking power to the rear, the stability of the car under severe braking could be seriously upset. Have you ever wished you hadn’t started something?

The complete ‘new’ rear assembly ready to be fitted to the 924 Research on the internet recommended that the brake master cylinder/servo and pipe work be changed to a ‘TT’ arrangement (fitted to the 924S and 944) of braking. In other words the front brakes are fed from one circuit and the rears from the other. The balance between front and rear being achieved by a stepped bore in the master cylinder, sending different pressures to front and rear brakes.

Good old eBay. A good quality second hand master cylinder and servo, from a late 944, was bought and new seals fitted. The existing pipe work was altered and re-routed to follow the ‘TT’ pattern.

A few ‘emergency stops’ on a quiet, flat country road seemed to prove the sense in changing the braking bias. Nice and straight and what a difference in the braking performance. Four large vented discs working in harmony. Doesn’t half inspire confidence when your brakes are spot on.

Have I created a hybrid? Not a true 924? Well it seems that this braking/wheel set-up was a factory option (M471), although I haven’t come across a 924 with it fitted.

I just think I’ve made my great wee car even better.

Writing & photgraphy by James McLaughlan

All Torque 67 page 19

Running report It has been a long time since Jim Hearnden’s last update and a lot of time (and much money) has been spent on his 944 Lux.

The annual event feared by every car owner, especially classic car owners is the MOT! I knew several jobs needed doing, the rear exhaust box leak and a slack ball joint on the offside front wishbone being the two major items. The exhaust box was swapped for a Dansk rear section, more on this later. After a fair bit of research, both of the front wishbones were swapped for a pair of service exchange Hartech refurbished ones. A quick oil change, oil and air filter change plus a plug swap and we were ready for the big day.

Due to massive work commitments that have plagued me all year, the MOT on the Porsche had actually expired by the time I managed to get it booked in. My previous MOT testers had seriously disgraced themselves in the eyes of VOSA and local Medway car owners so the hunt was on for another. I ended up at a place where the owner and his brother are actually classic car nuts which was a result. The guy was firm but fair; unlike the previous cowboys who’d done the MOT before, whom I believe needed guide dogs!

The outcome of the 45 minute investigation was not good.

Where the rear of the sill meets the torsion bar housing at each end had all the consistency of Weetabix and came away in big handfuls. An instant MOT fail there. Other more minor items on the failure list were; the non-white LED sidelights in the front driving lights, which are only parking lights on my car as it has Dim-Dip, and a weak handbrake on the nearside, 11% when it should be 16%.

To be honest I’ve always known the sills weren’t a brilliant job and having spoken to the car’s previous owner, he reckoned it was in fantastic condition apart from the sills which were extremely rotten. Is this a by-product of the car having lived its life next to the sea north of Glasgow? I didn’t realise back then that it would be quite this bad however.

I immediately phoned Chilham Sports Cars near Canterbury and they said to bring it down. When I arrived they had a quick look, but reckoned they wouldn’t be able to get onto it until the following week. Around eight days later I phoned them (why do garages never phone you?) to be told they’d cut the outer sills off and it was BAD … They were very concerned as the inner sills on a 944 are a significant part of the seat belt mountings and the corrosion had spread up into the body from the sill. A quick jaunt down there and several pictures later I could see what they meant. They had also had to cut off the lower front of the rear wings in order to access the torsion bar housing area. The inner sills were very rusty & the bottom edges of the sills were detached, therefore offering zero strength. The inner sides of the inner sills were covered in rust, even the stronger areas had a total coverage of surface rust, interesting for a supposedly galvanised car. Some of the outer sill cut-off turned out to consist of three layers of metal and had countless pounds of body filler.

The next question was do I scrap it or repair it? The response took all of about 10 seconds to reach and I told the garage to proceed … moreover this was to be a proper job!

In September, Jim took his 944 over to France for Le Touquet, a classic car event only 55 miles from Calais.

This trip had been organized by Continental Car Tours. The run down was great, with our hotel at Montreuil, around 15km inland from Le Touquet.

We met up with John Fagan, the newest TIPEC SELNK member who had come over later in the day in his 993.

The show is held at the Hippodrome, or horse racecourse, and is a large grassed area with many mature trees. We met up with TIPEC members Paul & Judy Drury in their very nice 968 Cab Tip and later in the day a French registered 924S Porsche joined us.

The main French Porsche contingent arrived a little later and parked elsewhere. The French seem to prefer the rear engine Porsches and that was reflected in the turnout, being predominately 911s of varying ages.

The Porsche turnout was much smaller this year, with a mix of 911s but no other Porsches. Last year we had several RS 911s & even a RUF Boxster.

The overall format of the show is quite laid back, with ad-hoc parking and people just wandering around the cars, which come from France, Britain and Belgium with the odd one from the Netherlands or Germany.

Le Touquet boasted a fantastic cross section of non-Porsche cars, ranging from big ’60s and ’70s Yanks to various obscure French sports cars such as

What I didn’t realise is that it would be two months before I saw the car again. Unfortunately due to holiday commitments as well as work I was unable to take interim pictures and the photos that the garage said they’d taken, I’ve never seen.

The car was eventually MOT’d in early July & thankfully passed.

It seems that their MOT tester didn’t like the white LEDs in the driving lights, so they were changed and the handbrake turned out to have been incorrectly assembled. Interesting as the handbrake cables had been fitted six months previously by a well known Berkshire Porsche independent.

On collection the car was filthy and covered inside and out with white powder from being mopped over. Also on closer inspection it looks like the white the sills are now painted in is a totally different shade to the rest of the car.

On the drive back from Chilham through the lanes I realised why I love the 944. Taut and responsive it definitely puts a smile on my face. The Dansk rear box has made the car feel more responsive and crisper, as well as sounding much better than the original. Not a bad tuning improvement for around £140.

Next jobs on the list are the body which is a patchwork quilt; mine being a hybrid of 944 Lux with an S2 front PU and rear under spoiler.

a Matra Simca Bagheera and a Rene Bonnet. The Belgian section of the Jaguar Drivers Club had turned out in force with everything from an XK120 through to a new XKR and an S-Type.

The other part of the show is a formal Concours with the selected cars being driven up one at a time, whereby someone interviews the driver and broadcasts the details of the car to the audience. The occupants are all dressed up in period (for the car) clothing. This is all taken quite seriously and some of the cars are very exotic indeed. The French are keen on their classics.

Apparently Porsche in France is similar to the UK with a factory backed club and a smaller independent one.

A more major issue is that the belts are overdue for change and every seal is leaking on the front of the engine. These oil leaks are tied in to the fact the engine driven briskly can consume oil at the rate of a litre for every 175 miles! This is a two stroke level of use and is certainly down to the piston rings being worn-out and pressurising the crankcase.

So a plan is being formulated based on acquiring another 944 engine and just to spice it up I’ve won a supercharger from eBay that was fitted to a Mercedes CLK 200 or 230. I’ve just won a three litre S2 lump on eBay which will be arriving in a few months.

A standard 2.5 is 163BHP nd a three litre S2 is 210 so looking at the figures I reckon it’ll be a circa 40% increase without going mad, giving 290ish BHP which should be fun.

My three litre will have to be a hybrid with an eight valve head as the 16 valve head is too wide (I think) to get the blower in.

I’ll update this with a separate article later.

My car had S2 suspension and brakes fitted all around soon after I bought it, so has better brakes. It also has for some mysterious reason larger anti roll bars than a Lux should have.

The car has to sit out over the winter as it doesn’t fit into the garage. Someone was selling a Covercraft car cover on the Titanic 944 email list, so the 944 has got an early Christmas pressie which should keep some of the weather off!

Writing & photography by Jim Hearnden

All Torque 67 page 21

A year of motoring bliss Clive Gosling’s 993 is one year old. Well, actually at time of writing it’s 11 years, five months and 10 days old, but that’s beside the point. It’s one year old to him …

I have always been a car wanderer, getting bored and moving on. The list is endless and I wouldn’t want to divulge many of the past beasts for fear of ridicule.

However the Porsche ‘affair’ began in March 2006 with the purchase of a Baltic Blue 944 Turbo which was awesome, admittedly with a bit of tweaking from Promax Motorsport. It signalled the beginning of a new car age for me. It was bought as a main driver to sit alongside my Triumph ‘high days and holidays’ Stag. A car so unreliable and so badly put together it was cool.

Prior to getting the 944 I had become a member of TIPEC just to get advice and join the crowd and it wasn’t long before my head was turned by various 911s at meets and events. Now is not the time to go in to the ’44 vs. 911 debate, but simply put: I wanted one. I decided that by selling the 944 and the Stag I could get a 911 as a daily driver. Wow. I knew it made sense; my wife just couldn’t see it. To be fair she still can’t see it and marks today as the first anniversary of the affair with my mistress.

The 944 sold for the same money I paid for it and the Stag for more, leaving me a nice fighting fund to seek my 911. I had already decided I wanted a 993, mainly because I loved the look, the sound of the air cooled engine and the fact that it was the 911 least likely to leak money in depreciation. After much searching, where cars described as immaculate had had more hits than Elvis, I found the current Porker: a 1996 (thus varioram) 993 C4 at 911 Virgin.

It was tidy, in ok condition, mechanically sound and as I was using it daily it didn’t make sense to lash out on a top condition one—fellow parkers in the miniscule bays at Milton Keynes railway station would soon have seen to that. What it did come with was a Porsche embossed binder with every bill listed and a monthly owners report, which sadly I still fill out, so it was obviously loved. So after trying to get my head around 911 Virgin’s ‘Millennium Bug’ price and the fact that if I paid it and the engine fell out after one minute I wasn’t covered, I paid near to the retail price, had a whopping service and check over done within said price and a daily driver it became.

I was happy and I wasn’t even put off by our now

illustrious chairman’s comments that ‘its not as good as thy 944 thee know’ (he’s from the North!). So the first three months of ownership were uneventful. A bit of ‘tidying’ here and there (such as a few panels re-sprayed), was how I sold the bill to the chief accountant, and that was it.

The real fun began on the day my boss in London failed to see my marketing genius and we fell out big time. He was and I believe still is American, so for fear of being sued we will move on. A new job meant more miles and clearly that would have trashed the 993 too much for my liking so the obvious thing was to wave goodbye to the Porker and re-invest in a cheaper Stuttgart masterpiece and a daily slogger.

If only it was that easy. One dull Saab later and the 993 is still in the garage, promoted to high days and holidays. As I say the fun started with our American friend’s decision and a certain comment: “Why don’t you go in for pride of ownership at Thoresby?” That was it, the future was clear. Time to devote some love and attention on the car to get the looks matching the performance.

We started with recolonising the grey leather seats and recolouring the blue steering wheel (it’s Iris blue with grey interior). I don’t think recolonising lasts too well, but still it’s a whole lot better than before.

Next on the list was the front end. I have always thought the 993 in its plain form lacks a little aggression nose on, but is a stunning looking car from every other angle. I decided on a pair of RS splitters from Design 911 and whilst I was at it why not get a rear bridge spoiler with brake light to brighten up the back end (only one delivery charge was my rationale to the in-house accountant). One good spray job later at GT Panelcraft near Brackley and enormous amounts of patience and care from said bodyshop in attempting to get the perfect fit, I was delighted. To me it just made the car look stunning.

Next on the list was the good old clay, cleanse, polish and wax. For all of this I use Meguiars products, I have tried loads of others but always gone back. The only addition I use is a final wax coat of Bilt Hamber wax. Primarily used in the classic car world and not widely known I have always been delighted with the gloss. So that was the car ready for the summer, locked up in bad weather and I was delighted. It looked amazing, especially compared to where we started.

A visit to Supercar Sunday at Gaydon on Father’s day in June ended up with the car in the ‘supercar of the day’ final. After ambling off with the family I returned to find a label on the window suggesting the car was in the final and to be in the main ring at X 0’clock.

I apologise to the person who’s car it really should have been on and yes I do have my suspicions as to the guilty party who swapped them … he’s from the North you know. Although I have been assured several times it was actually meant to be on my car, so who knows?

The crowd was asked to cheer for their favourite car with the top three going through. I was convinced that I was in the final three when C4 PKA had its go, clearly the judge was deaf in one ear and the Ferrari pipped me. I am not bitter just somewhat sad I missed his foot with a big fat Pirelli on the way out.

The following week Thoresby beckoned and after much buffing we took our place in the pride of ownership. The day was a little damp and I struggled manfully to keep it looking good. The sympathy vote works well I find, we did get a prize. However a close inspection by a top bufty led to a comment of “not too many swirls mate, well done.” Not too many? I want none. The bug had bitten. Yes, I love driving it, but I wanted it to look great.

How to get the paintwork looking even better? I remembered a good day at Meguiars where they demonstrated a Porter Cable type machine, not yet available in the UK owing to voltage conversion.

C4 PKA proudly taking part in the Supercar of the Day final line-up at Gaydon on Supercar Sunday I researched the web, found a Porter Cable in the states from a company called Autopia, researched the polishes, researched the pads, and researched voltage converters, whilst my wife researched lunatic asylums.

In the end I bored her so much she offered to buy it as a belated anniversary present. What can I say? How many wives offer to buy make-up for your mistress?

Four days later a huge box arrived from San Francisco and I was off. A few weeks of trial and error with the dual action machine and the car was transformed to a state I just could not believe. I kept away from pure rotary machines in favour of the dual action ones owing to the fact I am in general a clumsy sod and no doubt I would have been down to bare metal in about two minutes. It is fair to say that anyone can use these and with a bit of practice the results are excellent, with swirls gone and even scratches massively reduced. In fact it was so good I loaned it to someone, who we shall call ‘top bufty’ and since then it has disappeared to the darker side of Northamptonshire. High praise indeed for the Porter Cable that it is deemed worthy by one of our top detailers.

So where are we after one year? Well, we have just scraped through the annual emotional roller coaster called MOT, with the crushing advisory note that my drivers side wiper blade smears. As if I take it out in the rain … come on! My wife is learning to share the affair to the point she had a go in it and within 15 minutes was winding up BMW drivers. A fair sport in my opinion. It is without doubt the best and most exciting car I have ever driven, in handling, performance and of course those looks. Every journey is an event.

More importantly what’s next on the list? Pirellis seem to have lasted as long as a chocolate teapot, so its time for a new set of Bridgestone SO2’s … or should we go for Michelins? More evenings of research and being swayed by forum debates. Whilst we are at it, we may as well get those wheels refurbed, there are a few bubbles appearing, and of course it would make sense to sort out the alignment at the same time. Doing this all together is bound to be more cost effective isn’t it? Who knows the in-house accountant may actually fall for it again.

Writing & Photography by Clive Gosling

All Torque 67 page 23

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How many Porsches do you own?

I am of course talking about models and Porsche models are the most modeled and collectable of all car makes.

The first model a Porsche owner tends to purchase is the one of his own car and I was no exception.

First thoughts always go back to those Dinky models from our boyhood, but today model 1:43 scale Boxster concept car collecting is big business with a surprising number of manufacturers all making very accurate scale models.

difficult to see or feel the difference, the detail and accuracy is every bit as good as diecast. Resin is cheaper and quicker to tool up for a model which makes it economically viable for low volume production which Minichamps would never consider.

Most diecast models are made overseas, but there is still one model car makers in Britain: SMTS, who work in 1:43 scale.

SMTS models are made of white metal rather than diecast.

Diecast models are made from metal tools or dies, whereas white metal models are made from rubber moulds which, like resin moulded models, can be viably made in low numbers. You can buy a brand new 1:43 diecast model from MiniChamps for £20–£30, but a white metal model will cost you over £75 and is essentially made to order.

There are a choice of scales from the tiny 1:72, through to the most popular 1:43 and on to 1:18.

1:43 scale 924 Carrera GT Boss Le Mans 1981 Other common scales include So the rarer models, of which only a few hundred are the top end 1:12 models which are made, will come from the resin or white metal moulding extremely detailed (they can even include leather trimmed process. A couple of my most cherished models are the concept seats!) and expensive at over £200. Many of these can be version of the Boxster, Carrera GT and a much sought after 924 purchased with signed autographs from their famous drivers. If Carrera GT Boss Le Mans 1981, amongst my 300+ models all you want the best models in the world then it has to be a 1:8 protected in glass display cabinets. I also have a very rare model scale Amalgam, but they will set you back £2,750. You can’t made to order for me even drive them and they don’t seem to offer Porsches, but I’m of Ferry Porsche’s 928 sure they will make to order at that price!

Estate, made specially for him and presented to him A few years ago DeAgostini released a fortnightly magazine on his 80th Birthday. I and Porsche model collection of 1:43 scale diecast models, and can’t possibly tell you how this really kick-started my collecting of model Porsches. The much that cost me in case 16 page magazine covered the Porsche history, the different Pauline (my wife) reads 1:43 scale 928 Estate, made to order! models, motorsport and other Porsche topics. They released a this article. series of 50 magazines and models for £4.99 each and what excellent value for money they were. These now sell regularly on eBay for a just a few pounds.

Ebay is a good source With around 50 for models at attractive manufacturers to be found, When it comes to Porsches there are an amazing number of prices, but there are also here are some of the most models available, I reckon over 1,200, from the Le Mans cars to many traders with their common brands: road cars (including police cars) from all eras. own websites and great Brumm, Minichamps, Best, opportunities at car shows, CMC, Eagle, EBBRO, Exoto, If you are a serious collector of 1:43 scale models then you are as well as the manufacturers Mattel, D’Agostini, Exotica, sure to have examples from Minichamps, who also make models own websites: AUTOart, Schuco, NZG, Onyx, sold under the Porsche brand. Earlier models from Porsche were Grandprixmodels.co.uk Solido, Spark, JADI, Jolly, made by NZG. Spark are one of the new boys in the collectors’ Diecastlegends.com Kyosho, Amalgam, BBR, IXO, market and the difference with Spark is that rather than diecast Johnsmodelcars.co.uk Solido, Revell, Vitesse, Quarto, metal for their bodyshells, they use resin mouldings. It is very KRW models.co.uk Trofeu, HPi, KRW. Writing & Photography by Derek Flanagan

All Torque 67 page 25

Gruppe North Scotland RO Stewart Gordon 0169 884 1692 (evenings) 0797 480 8342 (mobile) flashgordon944@blueyonder.co.uk ARO Alan Neilson 0132 487 1543 0779 323 4096 (mobile) alz1933@alanneilson.fsnet.co.uk ARO Neil Fraser 0131 660 0143 0794 661 6782 (mobile) neil@fraser72.freeserve.co.uk Meetings are held first Wednesday of every month 8pm at The King Robert Hotel, Bannockburn, Stirling, FK7 0LJ. A Look Back On 2007 Although dropping back slightly from the high of 2005, membership has increased by 130% of the original number eight years ago. Attendance at the monthly meetings has been steady, between 20 and 30 each month depending on whether its been a summer or winter meeting, which is a credit to all who take the time to come along.

Having set out the Diary for 2007 back in February we had filled all the months from March through to December with one type of event or another including shows, pub runs, weekends away, our national TIPEC show at Thoresby Park, our regional concours at Selkirk, and in November some of us were at the NEC in Birmingham supporting TIPEC and Kevin Tocher, who kindly donated his 964 Cabbie for the three days of show, well done Kevin!

We got off to a sticky start with the first show of the season at The Museum Of Flight being cancelled due to construction work, but we managed to get out to most of all the other events and it’s fair to say everybody who has attended any of the above has had a great time. My only concern is that there are still members out in the region who we don’t get to meet and it would be nice to put a faces to names!

Still come on the 8th December is our Christmas party night, with over 30 members booked to attend the event.

To all our members, especially those who have supported the region on events and outings, along with Alan Neilson and Neil Fraser the AROs for their help and support, thank you all very much.

So for 2008, let’s see a showing of those absent names, there are a bunch of regular members out there dying to share in your car stories and experiences. Hope you all have a lovely Christmas and a brilliant Hogmanay. Hope to see you all in 2008.

Cheshire & Staffs RO Steve Taylor 0777 491 2069 (mobile) stephen_taylor@datascope.com ARO Dave Watson 0790 192 8356 (mobile) watson1970@aol.com Meetings are held third Tuesday of every month 8pm at The Whipping Stocks, Stocks Lane, Over Peover, Knutsford, WA16 9EX. I’m writing this after returning back from the Classic Car Show at the NEC in Birmingham, once again a very enjoyable day. The TIPEC stand was very well supported with some fantastic Porsches on display. Well done to the TIPEC team who organised this years event.

Last month the Cheshire & Staffs region held their first club night in their new venue: The Whipping Stocks just outside Knutsford. We had an open forum night with Unit 11 Porsche providing the answers to members’ technical questions. the atmosphere was fantastic and with 30 members attending on the night one of the best club nights we have had for several months. Here’s hoping that many more months will be the same.

We have a few events on the horizon so if you would like to join us on them let me know. If you have never attended an event or club night don’t be shy we are a friendly bunch and we don’t bite. Saturday 8th December we are holding a Rolling Road

Morning at TDi Northwest in Warrington.

I have provisionally booked us in but we could do with a few more cars on the day.

Unit 11 Porsche have kindly offered to open up for a pre-run inspection and to provide tea, coffee and biscuits. Please let me know if you fancy coming along. Tuesday 18th December we will be having our annual Christmas meal, to be held on club night at the Whipping Stocks at 8pm. Menus are available with a variety of starters, main courses and desserts followed by Coffee and Mince Pies, all for £17.95 per head.

Again we need an idea of numbers so let me know.

If any members would like to suggest an event or have any ideas that would benefit the region please let either myself or Dave Watson know. Remember it’s your club and you’re the members so feel free to talk to us. When and where possible we will endeavour to please.

North West RO John Pye 0795 781 8636 (mobile) tipecnw@tiscali.co.uk ARO Brenda Marginson 0125 483 1766 brenda.marginson944@virgin.net Meetings are held first Monday of every month 8pm at The Thatch & Thistle, Chorley Road, Blackrod BL6 5LA. When this falls on a Bank Holiday, we meet on the second Monday.

I am writing this having just had our first meeting at the Thatch & Thistle at Blackrod, I am glad to say that everybody was most impressed with the new venue and so we have decided to move our meetings here in future. Special thanks go to the landlord Peter for organising hot pot and mushy peas for us all free of charge, and boy did that go down a treat, so much so he brought out another tray for us! I tried to get Peter to put on free food every month … I’m sorry, he won’t go for that, but I did try! What he can do is put on a hot pot, curry dish or something along those lines when requested at a very good price. Something to think about for our concours and quiz nights etc.

We held our usual annual quiz at our November meeting and congratulations go to the ‘Rouge Traders’, namely Bob, Cully, Mike and Rod who won first prize a tin of chocolates, closely followed in 2nd place by ‘George & the No-Stars’, George, Andy, Ray and Carol, who won a bottle of wine and in 3rd place ‘The Hot Potters’ Martin, Liz, Peter and Paul who also won a bottle of wine. Club members donated all prizes, once again thanks go out for your kind donations. Another year draws to a close and the only event left to look forward to is our annual Christmas do at the Viking Hotel in Blackpool. We are considering having a change of shows next year so if you have any suggestions please put them forward.

All future meetings at the Thatch & Thistle will be held as usual at 8pm on the first Monday of the month (second when the first is a bank holiday). The Thatch & Thistle is on Chorley Road, Blackrod, BL6 5LA. Directions as follows: Leave the M61 at Junction 6 and head north on the A6.

You will find the Thatch & Thistle on the left hand side just after you enter Blackrod.

Watch out for the speed camera on the A6!

All there is left to say for those I won’t see at the Christmas do or meeting is: I hope you have a jolly good Christmas and a happy New Year, look forward to seeing you at one of our shows or meetings in 2008.

North East RO Gary Richardson 0138 881 7456 (evenings) 0784 906 3107 (mobile) gary.richardson05@tiscali.co.uk Meetings are held first Sunday of every month 7:30pm at The Sporting Lodge, Low Lane, Stainton Village, Cleveland, TS17 9LW, just off the A19.

Lincolnshire RO Brod Purdy 0147 239 9381 (evenings) rafiki@brodncarolyn.nadsl.net ARO Mike Daniels 0777 096 8159 (mobile) mike@jwhartonagriculture.co.uk Meetings are held second Wednesday of every month 7:30–8pm at The King’s Head Inn, Kingsway, Tealby, LN8 3YA. Unfortunately I was unable to attend last night’s meeting of the Lincolnshire Area owing to a rather nasty migraine; even after I’d spent all afternoon preparing for my talk on our experiences on the Norwich Union/MSA Classic. This talk will now be held over to the December meeting (12th December 2007 … Kenya Independence Day, should you be interested.) I am looking at more ‘motor driven’ events for next year, including a visit to the Battle of Britain Museum at RAF Coningsby and a Sunday run around some of the lesser used roads in Lincolnshire, based around the Wolds.

Carolyn and I have now had our entry on the 2008 Cape to Cape Tour confirmed, and there are still around 19 places left for anyone wising come and join us and raise funds for Macmillan Cancer. There is a new system in place this year that will ensure that all funds you raise can go to your own area. Any funds raised through my personal site (www.justgiving.com/c2c5) will be allocated to Macmillan HQ for its work. My own website has become the ‘unofficial’ site for updated information about the 2008 Tour. (www.pr4motorsport.com) Finally, one sad note. My article on the 2007 Cape to Cape Tour had as its main photograph, a 944 Lux driven by Dave Rae, a cancer sufferer himself. Carolyn and I managed to talk to him at the TIPEC

National at Thoresby when he and his wife talked about taking part next year. Sadly, Dave succumbed to his cancer and passed away not long after. Our thoughts are with his family and we shall certainly be thinking of him next year as we raise more funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Yorkshire RO John Oakes 0113 282 7512 john.oakes3@btinternet.com ARO David Levin asmidir@hotmail.com Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month 7:30–8pm at The Windmill, Hull Road, Dunnington, York, YO19 5LP. I have provisionally booked to have a Christmas meal for the club night and hopefully a quiz on Tuesday 4th December.

Please bring along wives, girlfriends etc.

Payment is on the night. Please note that there will be no meeting on Tuesday 1st January, as I will be away skiing. A Happy New Year to everyone!

The new club website is www.tipec.net and the forum there is an excellent way to keep up to date with news and events.

The Windmill is located on the A1079 (Hull Road) approximately two miles east of York towards Hull and one mile from the A64/ A166/A1079 interchange. Their website is www.thewindmilldunnington.co.uk

Gruppe Central Central RO John Brookes 0796 636 2772 (mobile) john.brookes16@btinternet.com ARO Paul Bird 0783 187 7983 (mobile) paul@psbservices.co.uk Meetings are held second Monday of every month 8pm at The Red Lion, Lady Lane, Earlswood, B94 6AQ. Those of you that didn’t attend our Weekend of the Year (WOTY) in the Lake District at the beginning of October missed a rare treat. For one of only a very few weekends in 2007 the sun-gods blessed us on three consecutive days. From driving up the M6 on Friday afternoon to arriving home on Sunday evening, not a cloud was to be seen. Perhaps it is true that the sun always shines on the righteous!

Thirteen couples had booked up for the weekend and even with a couple of late cancellations there were still enough of us to generate a bit of interest in the hotel car park. Our chosen venue was the Abbey House Hotel at Dalton-in-Furness and from arrival to departure the venue was perfect.

The staff went out of their way to make us welcome and had arranged for us to dine in the Great Hall, separate to the main dining room, so that we could enjoy our own company.

Friday evening passed quickly with everyone chatting over dinner and getting to know each other, particularly the wives that I think were expecting a weekend of Porsche, BHP, flywheels and oil viscosity. In fact there was very little Porsche content, the conversation was varied and everyone had a great evening.

Saturday was a ‘free day’ so that everyone could enjoy the lakes as they wished. Some chose the local golf course, others a spot of walking and four cars (944, 993, Boxster and 968 Cab) headed off together alongside Lake Windermere towards Bowness for a poke around the town. After an hour poking around the town we headed off to Kirkstone Pass and broke our tour at the Kirkstone Pass Inn for a well deserved drink.

Such was the weather that we sat outside soaking up the autumn sunshine and the most stunning views of the Pass before heading off towards Coniston and the return leg of our journey back to the hotel.

Saturday night saw us dining in the Great Hall again with even larger portions of food than the previous evening and more copious amounts of alcohol to help fuel the tales of the day. We briefly broke up the chatter to wish Brian & Pam Rowledge a happy anniversary and present a bottle of champagne and a card signed by all attending, but other than this the conversation and the drink flowed without a break all night.

Obviously Donald Campbell had a unique bond with Coniston and this small museum has full size replica’s of his Bluebird car and the K7 jet boat in which his quest for speed came to such a tragic end.

A few happy hours were spent by all poking around the exhibits as well as the house and gardens.

Lunchtime arrived and most folk had found their way to the tea rooms to enjoy a pot of tea and a cake in the sunshine. The girls hit the shops to bag one last bargain and our weekend had come to an end.

By early afternoon everyone headed off back down the M6 for home and we started planning for next year. Watch this space!

Posing in the car park Sunday morning brought a hearty breakfast before we took a few pictures in the car park and bade farewell to the Abbey. We set off in convoy to our final destination of the weekend: Holker Hall and the Lakeland Motor Museum.

There is nothing like driving along in a convoy of Porsches. The stunned looks, turned heads and the throbbing sound of a Porsche behind you at the traffic lights are great fun.

Tall tales being told in the Great Hall

There is nothing like driving along in a convoy of Porsches …

We took a steady drive to Holker where we had arranged a group discounted entry for the house and motor museum which includes the Campbell experience.

Cambs & Lincs RO George Shand 0771 902 6905 (mobile) tipeccl@yahoo.co.uk Winter meetings are held first Sunday of every month from midday at The White Swan, Conington, Cambridge, CB3 8LN. RO required, to host monthly meetings at a local pub/hotel and with support from the members attend/organise local events.

Wales SW RO required, to host monthly meetings at a local pub/hotel and with support from the members attend/organise local events.

South Yorkshire & North Notts.

RO John Middleton 0789 966 3344 (mobile) john.mid20@btinternet.com ARO Chris Belfield 0153 041 3527 (evenings) kathy.belfield@virgin.net

A provisional programme has been put together for 2008 and this will be published in the near future. At this stage there is not much finalised with regard to dates but these will be added when more details are known.

Meetings are held first Sunday of every month 5–5:30pm (meeting proper begins 7pm) at Ye Olde Bell Hotel, Barnby Moor, Retford, Notts, DN22 8QS.

Following a vote it was agreed by majority that the WOTY next year will be in the Cotswolds. A subcommittee was set up (JM, CB, JA, PJ and partners) although any other members are welcome and indeed will be encouraged to get involved and contribute ideas for what we can do, where we can go etc.

Please note the new venue, their food is excellent!

East Midlands

There has been a change in TIPEC region boundaries to accommodate the East Midlands Region. John M proposed that a more appropriate name for our region would now be South Yorkshire & North Notts. This was agreed by all members present at the meeting and we shall forthwith be known as the SYNNers!

In October we visited Coventry Museum of Transport with 12 cars from SYNN, EMR and Central in attendance. The cars were lined up in front of the museum which made for a great display and attracted a lot of interest from passers by.

There was plenty to see, ranging from pre-war cars right through to modern day vehicles. The highlight of the visit was probably seeing the current world speed record holder, Thrust SS2, and being able to get a feel of what a world record speed attempt is like via the simulator. Thust SS2 is a truly awesome machine and it took a very brave person to drive it through the sound barrier.

After two hours in the museum we made our way for some lunch which was followed by visits to Autobahn and Shirleys of Meridon. We were made very welcome at both venues which made for a nice closure to the day.

RO Chris Belfield 0153 041 3527 0772 047 1150 (mobile) kathy.belfield@virgin.net ARO Graham Waller graham.waller@polypipe.com Meetings are held third Tuesday of every month 7pm for food (meeting proper begins 8pm) at The Anchor Inn, Loughborough Road, Hathern, Leicestershire, LE12 5JB. In September we joined the SYNN Region on a visit to Morgan Cars. With eight cars in attendance, we met at Tamworth Services and convoyed to Malvern in glorious weather for a pub lunch and then a guided trip around the factory.

A very interesting and informative visit.

In October we visited Coventry Motor Museum, with a pub lunch after the museum and avisit to Porsche dealerships Autobahn and Shirley’s on the way home. We also visited the NEC Classic Car show in November.

The East Midlands Region Christmas party and meal will take place on the evening of the December meeting (18th).

The menu is now available on request.

Sad part of the day was seeing a 600 bhp 996 Gembella Turbo being dried out after suffering total submersion in the summer floods (not sure yet whether or not it will have to be written off!)

There have been some changes to the region boundaries between ourselves and the SYNN Region. If you are unsure which region you now fall into, please contact the RO of either one for clarification!

The SYNN Christmas party is on 8th December at Ye Old Bell. To date 28 people are to attend and 10 rooms have been booked.

Alan F reports that he had recently participated in a car rally around the Market Harborough area. We propose

to use the route ourselves next summer.

The October meeting concluded with a quiz which was won by Eric, Alan and Graham.

Bristol RO Paul Harrison 0788 411 6971 (mobile) AH-MM@pda.mod.uk Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month 8pm at The Fox, Easter Compton, B35 5RA, one mile West of M5 J17 (Cribbs Causeway).

Hi to everyone from the South West. We’ve had a quiet autumn, with no dedicated events apart from the monthly meets since September. It’s the weather!

We had quite a good turn out for a November meeting, with Mike Welch (944), Greg Horne (944), David Watts (911sc), Mick Simmons (944), Gareth & Mervyn (TVR plastic pig, but should be 911), and Pete & Wendy Mack (911 Targa).

Paul Harrison, RO, sent his apologies but as he had been away with work for a week, he thought perhaps that he should spend some time at home with his family. Ditto Jon Baker who was due some quality time with Mrs Baker … It was Pete Mack’s birthday, so we had chocolate cake.

Gareth & Mervyn talked about the Goodwood Revival (again!!) and we debated the pros and cons of that against the Festival of Speed. Each to their own!

There was lots of talk about Classic Le Mans 2008. Some of us have already booked ferry tickets and can’t wait. Tickets for the circuit and camping are also reserved so if you fancy coming along, the more the merrier. It should be a good TIPEC turnout with other regions already firming up their plans as well.

The Entry List for Prescott Hill is now out and after the fun we had last year (aside from the rain!), some of us have entered that as well. Contact myself or Graham if you would like a free run or two up the famous hill!

Our Christmas meal will be on Sunday December the 16th at lunchtime; it’s a couples thing and is already looking promising with 13 members booked in.

All Torque 67 page 29

South Central

On Saturday 2nd February we will be going to the Coventry Transport Museum, where we have pre-booked our own parking area outside the entrance. Entrance to the museum is free. Please meet at the OPC in Towcester at 9:30am, where we will head off in a group at around 10:00am.

RO Geoff Cox 0123 581 5880 0774 045 2586 (mobile) geoff.b.cox@btinternet.com ARO Debbie Oakley 0160 486 2285 theavonlady@tesco.net Meetings are held fourth Wednesday of every month at The Crooked Billet, Kingswood, HP18 0QJ, on the A41 between Bicester and Aylesbury.

We recently enjoyed a trip around the Williams F1 team, courtesy of Marc Logan who works for the team. The museum and trophy rooms were fascinating to look around and the manufacturing areas were spotless. This event had restricted numbers and was filled during club night before we could send notes out to all members, so apologies if you were unaware of the day.

On Saturday 1st March we will be going to Mercedes Benz World at Brooklands to look around their very impressive facilities.

Many of you may wish to pre-book test drives for the day, simply let me know your requirements. Please meet at the Oxford Services on the M40 to the East of Oxford at 9:30am, where we will head off in a group at around 10:00am.

On Sunday 30th March we will be going to a view an extensive private collection of cars and military vehicles, which are used in the film industry, near Windsor. Please meet at the Oxford Services on the M40 to the East of Oxford at 9:30am, to head off in a group around 10:00am.

The Christmas meal is at 7:00pm on Wednesday 19th December at The Crooked The collection is all under cover and Billet, where there will be a disco with a contains lots of memorabilia as well as cars, 3601 - All 1 5/9/07 09:44 Pagefrom 1 DJ. IfTorque_Artwork:Layout you have not yet booked your place tanks and motorcycles please contact me quickly. A £10 deposit is required.

the 1920s–1950s. For more details see www.historyonwheels.co.uk.

South Central members outside the Williams F1 team headquarters On Sunday 3rd August, we will be attending TIPEC 2008 at Gaydon, our biggest event of the year.

North London & Herts RO Gary Adams 0779 989 5274 (mobile) garyadams_1980@hotmail.com Meetings are held third Thursday of every month 7:30pm at The Robin Hood, The Ridgeway, Botany Bay, Enfield, Middlesex, EN2 8AP.

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Gruppe South South East RO Derek Flanagan 0134 271 7754 0776 725 4820 (mobile) derek.flanagan@varian.com ARO Keith Funnell 0129 388 6601 0779 075 3697 (mobile) keith.funnell@btinternet.com

We are hoping to arrange an open day at Wicked Wheels on either the first or second Saturday in December subject to Wicked Wheels completing their expansion in Crawley.

We have also had an invitation to Mid Sussex Porsche open evening along with PCBG R23 Region on 4th December when mince pies will be on the menu.

Meetings are held second Wednesday of every month 8pm at The Shipley Bridge Inn, Antlands Lane, Burstow, RH6 9TE, on the B2037, off the A23, one mile North of Crawley M23 J10.

Our final event in 2007 will be our Christmas dinner on our December club night of 12th December, when we will celebrate our 2007 achievements and announce our member of the year.

The October and November meetings have been well attended with 20+ attendances.

Special thanks to Peter Rowe (Service), Tony Tedeschi, and John (Sales) and David Brown (Collection & delivery driver) from Mid Sussex OPC for their support, handouts. and keeping us up to date on Porsche news.

Calendar of events Sat 1st or 8th December (TBC) Open day at Wicked wheels Tue 4th December Mid Sussex Porsche Open Evening Wed 12th December Christmas dinner and club night

SE Region membership continues to grow , we now stand at 80. Special thanks to new members John Retter, Ian Bain (Boxster) and Ken Ferrier (944) who have all attended their first meeting recently.

Our lotto reached £65 in November and was finally won by our most regular attendee John Wallin. A very deserving winner. Congratulations John.

In November we held our annual ten pin bowling evening followed by a Chinese meal. This year we went to the Hollywood Bowl in Crawley and onto the Happy Meeting Chinese restaurant. The novices beat the old timers. Colin Bonner was the overall winner closely followed by Charlotte (Michael’s partner) whilst the expected contenders Terry, Steve and yours truly’s efforts all came to nothing. Steve had the consolation of winning the bet with yours truly but I will get my revenge next time.

Peter Rowe (Mid Sussex Porsche OPC) announced that OPC Mid Sussex are to introduce Winter Service checks at £29.95.

Also Peter is formulating servicing packages with their Marketing department and will email us the details and post them on the forum.

if you haven’t got a local meet why not look at starting one? It isn’t hard and is, as I say, great fun.

I hope all Southern region members have a great Christmas and New Year and I am looking forward to a busy 2008 for the region. For the coming year we will be looking at new events and keeping some of the old favourites. The Easter egg hunt will remain, the BBQ at Jon Mitchell’s is a must, as will be the Funday. I hope we can have more drives out, meeting other regions.

With any luck we can have a Valentines run in February (weather permitting) and kick off with the new year from there. Our last meet of the year is at the True Lovers Knot on the first Tuesday of December and I hope to see you all there. Remember we don’t do January meets as this is too close to the New Year.

Southern RO Gordon Collins 0783 579 8734 (mobile) gtsc.dkm@virgin.net ARO Jim Tarrant 0120 260 1886 jim.tarrant@hotblack944.fsnet.co.uk Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month 7:30pm at The True Lovers Knot Pub, Tarrant Keyneston, Nr Blandford Forum, Dorset, DT11 9JG. Southern region has been quiet for the last month. The last club night was attended by the usual stalwarts. A big thank you must go to everyone who has made the region a success over the last year. The region was in abeyance this time last year but thanks to Jim Tarrant the ARO and new webmaster, Brett Ainley, Steve Masterman, Alec Hopley, Alan Booth, Nick Snook and Mike Carter we now have a very solid nucleus of attendees who are most welcoming to new members.

My experience in restarting the region has been a worthwhile and fun time and I would encourage all members to get down to local meets and see what is happening,

Squeezing under the club gazebo in poor weather is a popular sport!

Club nights are nothing formal just a beer, some tyre kicking and chat. Come along and feel free to make suggestions of things you would like the region to do. I will be there to kick things off and will buy the first person arriving a pint!

East Anglia RO Mark Flintham 0147 373 5497 mark.flintham@tecnisis.co.uk Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month 8pm at The Crown, Old Ipswich Road, Ardleigh, Nr Colchester, CO7 7QR. RO required, to host monthly meetings at a local pub/hotel and with support from the members attend/organise local events.

All Torque 67 page 31

SE London & North Kent RO Jim Hearnden 0163 430 8062 0793 035 3232 (mobile) tr7v8@phaetonconsulting.co.uk ARO Paul Greer 0779 941 2870 (mobile) prgreer@blueyonder.co.uk Meetings are held first Friday of every month 7:30pm at The Bull Hotel, Bull Lane, Wrotham, Kent, TN15 7RF. Next Meetings are 7th December & 7th January ’08 with Christmas dinner definitely on the 8th December. I have 13 names down for the Christmas dinner, so if you wish to come, contact me immediately (but it maybe too late depending on when this magazine arrives!)

After I talked in the last All Torque of variable turn outs to meetings, the November meeting surprised us all by having 13 people! If we carry on at this rate we’ll have to get a bigger room. This included two new members; George & Jill with a stunning ’88 911 3.2 in white.

Paul & I have made the first pass at a diary for the 2008 calendar. It certainly looks like an exciting 3rd year for SELNK. Paul & I have had a meeting with OPC Tonbridge. They are very willing to assist us in any way we wish (my long term loan Cayman arrives next month! Only kidding unfortunately). They officially do 10% discount on all servicing & parts. Labour for 993 & earlier cars is £77 per hour.

They also said that they’ll try & better the pricing on parts & Porsche goodies if at all possible. Certainly one of our members found that with discount they were cheaper on gas struts than the specialists. They have a box at Brands Hatch and we’ll be doing an event there sometime next year. Also they have suggested bringing a car along to some of our events, both the odd club night and also to shows like Leeds Castle. They are really keen to help. For servicing contact Aaron Thompson, OPC Tonbridge Service Manager, on 0173 236 1222. For parts contact John Hosking, Parts Manager, on 0173 237 6886. The parts email address is parts@porschetonbridge.co.uk. They have a copy of a sample TIPEC membership card & have informed their staff of what has been agreed. Remember to say that you are from

TIPEC to get your discount. This is open to all regions, not just SELNK. The new TIPEC website & forum is now up and running after a lot of hard work by Sean. Please at least go over and have a look, it’s at www.tipec.net. Being the sad person I am, I’ll be spending time on there and it’d be nice to have some company.

Last event of the year was a Halloween run out. Nigel had very foolishly volunteered to run an event of our choosing and this was it. We met at Maidstone Services at the ungodly hour of 9:30am, which for a Sunday is a little painful, but waking up on arrival was assisted by a hot tea! The weather was damp but not raining. Nigel then presented us with the ‘Road Book’. Ye gods I’ve seen smaller telephone directories! Each portion of the journey comprised road directions with a coloured map behind followed by a description of why that area, e.g. the ghoulies or ghosties we’re possibly going to see. The whole book ran to 39 pages and was an excellent effort on Nigel & Pats part, although I do understand Pat has repetitive strain injury from assembling it!

We left around the 9:45am time, Nige & Pat leading in their 996 and me doing the tail-end Charlie bit to ensure everyone kept up. We toured most of Kent, including the lovely named Kits Koty at Bluebell Hill.

The run from here was to Beech Court Gardens in Challock, through some lovely countryside. Here we had tea, coffee and home made cakes all thanks to Nigel & Pat. We left here and did a trip around Pluckley village, then on to Reculver Bay which although not raining was definitely windy with drizzle in the air. The blast from here took us to our final venue which was the Walnut Tree Inn at Aldington. The journey there did have one minor hiccough though. By now it had started to rain and after around 10 minutes my left hand wiper decided to part company with the blade with a big clatter! Luckily it stayed loosely on the arm. I decided to press on as the narrow lanes meant it would have been difficult to stop. The Inn has an extensive menu, including a lot of stone cooked meals.

These are raw meat or fish presented on a very hot lava stone. The carnivores among us all proceeded to devour large lumps of meat, with a few going for the fishy option.

Overall thanks to Nige & Pat for organising a fantastic day, very well thought out. I know the members certainly enjoyed it and it would be great to do something similar next year

The wiper has now been replaced by a shiny new one, this incidentally is the second one I’ve had break. The bit that breaks is the plastic moulding adapter that connects the arm to the wiper. Certainly worth a check on your car, it could be dangerous at speed and could wreck the windscreen if a bare metal arm bounces across it!

Nothing formal was arranged for November, as it’s become the end of the driving season.

However as mentioned earlier a great turn out for the club night. Thanks to all who came, it makes the effort of organizing it so worthwhile.

Cornwall & Devon RO Steve Switzer 0120 881 6397 0786 755 6869 (mobile) steve_switzer@mac.com Meetings are held second Sunday of every month 12:30–3pm at The Winds of Change, South Petherwin, Nr Launceston, Cornwall, PL15 7LP. Please contact Steve in advance so that he can advise the restaurant of attendee numbers.

Good to see a new face at this months meeting. A big welcome to Mark Watling with his very impressive 2004 996 Turbo cab with factory X50 power upgrade option. Colour is Polar silver with Metropole hood and interior. It has been further upgraded from 450bhp to approx 550bhp with the addition of DMS ecu upgrade and sports exhaust.

There is little to add to that description, only to say that if it goes as well as it certainly sounded, it’s going to be a very quick beast indeed. The picture shows it with a 944 Guard of honour.

As Tony is a qualified IAM rider and instructor for Bikes and a qualified IAM for cars I’ve asked him to brief us a little more on the subject at our next meeting.

It really was a great day for driving Porsches over the moors. In the morning, though it got a tad grey in the afternoon.

In my own case it was good to let mine have a good run after running a front wheel bearing on the way back from Taunton earlier in the week. Nice to have it back.

increasingly likely that we will have a weekend away sometime in the spring, probably in Devon.

Mark’s 996 Turbo cab flanked by ‘the old guard’ of TIPEC Cornwall & Devon Region Who wants to walk to work when you can hop in the Porsche? Puts a smile on my face both ends of the day.

Next meeting will be as usual: 2nd Sunday of the month, 9th December. Venue: the most excellent Winds of Change, Launceston. See you there.

“All the best Nick, you’ll make a great RO and are already a great asset to the club.

We’ll all be there to help you out during the changover.

Thames Valley

Thanks for all the kind words, I’ve enjoyed running the region and had many a laugh along the way. It’s been superb to have such loyal friends and members that regularly attend the meets, this is what makes the effort all worthwhile.

RO Paul Mabley 0783 162 9342 (mobile) paul.mabley@tipec.net ARO Jason Gibson 0795 845 9725 (mobile) jasongibson@blueyonder.co.uk

I see the club going from strength to strength under Sean and the current committee but I feel I currently haven’t the time or resources to push the region forward at the same pace. This is where I think Nick can take things to the next level.

Meetings are held first Tuesday of every month 7:30pm at The Red Lyon, Henley Road, Hurley, Berkshire, SL6 5LH.

Most of all, thanks to my able ‘assistant’ Jason. We’ve run the region together equally over the last year rather than in the RO and ARO roles and it’s been superb, the highlight of which was sleeping together in the region gazebo. Thanks mate it’s been a laugh. I’ll still be about every month and will be active in the region so you haven’t got rid of me just yet. Looking forward to the future, Paul.”

Due to family commitments, Paul Mabley has had to stand down as RO. I’m Nick Ramsay, the new RO for Thames Valley.

I’ve been an active member of TIPEC since I bought my 996 C4 in September last year.

I will be ably assisted by the current ARO, Jason Gibson, and Paul will still be assisting us in the background. I’d like to thank Paul for all his hard work and I’ll be doing my best to keep the momentum going.

We hope to organise a drive out on New Year’s Eve, so keep an eye on the forum for an announcement nearer the time.

Due to the first Tuesday of January also being New Year’s Day, we will be moving our first meet of 2008 to the following Tuesday: the 8th of January (same time and place).

Here’s Paul’s ‘signing off’ statement as pulled from the forum:

Wessex RO Pete Blackler 0777 920 3278 (mobile) pete.blackler@freenet.uk.com Meetings are held fourth Tuesday of every month at The Wheatsheaf Inn, Braishfield Road, Braishfield, Romsey, Hampshire, SO51 0QE. The monthly meetings continue to be well attended, with lively discussions about everything from cars to food and what future events we may plan. It is looking

The Christmas meal is on Friday the 7th December at The Hunters Inn, Swanmore, this as usual will be in conjunction with the TR Drivers club and is fully subscribed (42 people), if you wish to go let me know ASAP and I will attempt to fit you in. The cost is £15 for a three course meal (with choices of starter, main and pudding) including tip, and a cake is being made for us and the TR club, complete with club logos.

Several of the Wessex region went for a curry at Kutis in Southampton, this was on a lovely Sunday afternoon and was an eat all you like buffet, with starters (my particular favourite, as I think a few people noticed as I went back for more a few times), main course and pudding.

I think we all left a little heavier than we arrived, but still managed to squeeze under the steering wheel. Everyone had a good time and we will certainly be doing a few more things of this nature, thanks to all that came along (even though I told everyone the wrong address!)

My 911 Turbo continues to keep on breaking in various forms, although it has not let me down yet. Well, not since the last time that took me about six weeks to sort out. It turned out to be a wire shorting out in the 14-pin connector from the engine loom to the main loom, but only happened when then car warmed up (about 15-20 minutes).

When it shorted it would ground out and shut off the fuel pumps, most annoying!

Anyway with that sorted I went to the next club night with some trepidation (especially as I had forgotten my mobile phone). No problems until I was on the way home, when the rev counter started jumping around all over the place, but the engine runs fine.

I’m pretty sure it is a diode breaking down in the alternator, although it could be an earth problem. Just to add insult to injury, when I got home I put the window down so that I could see to reverse into the carport … it then promptly fell out of its support. I managed to lift it by hand and then wind the window internals up to support it, slammed the door, kicked the tyre in disgust and went indoors. I will fix it this weekend, wonder what’s next?

All Torque 67 page 33

Member’s letters Send your thoughts and comments on the magazine, club matters both local and national, or anything else you’d like to get off your chest and in front of the rest of our membership to All Torque at the email (and physical) addresses you can find on page three.

Carrera errata

Back patting

You showed a Carrera GT on the front cover of issue 66, October 2007. Its correct description is actually 904 Carrera GTS to differentiate it from the current Carrera GT model and the 924 Carrera GT.

Two more things to celebrate at this festive time!

The 904 Carrera GTS was the first Porsche to have a plastic body and was originally produced with a 2,000cc four cylinder engine for racing. Only 100 were made (for homologation purposes). Its first race win was in the Targa Florio in 1964 where it took the first two places, followed by a win in the 1,000km Nurburgring and an amazing five 904s finished in the top 12 at Le Mans in that year. Some cars were fitted with the six cylinder 2,200cc (904/6) and a few were even built with an eight cylinder 771 formula one engine (904/8).

Derek Flanagan

From the TIPEC website forum:

Firstly, a great start to the new editorship. In issue 66 you took a long hard look at an already successful periodical, and gave it a very fresh up to the minute style, with some great pictures. Well done to everybody who contributed!

Secondly, we’ve got a smashing new website and forum. I know it’s early days yet, but it has all the indications of being a tremendous addition to this very friendly club of ours. Well worth waiting for. Congratulations to everyone involved. I’d like to take this chance to send my good wishes and thanks to all ‘The Management!’. 2008 looks like being a very positive year for TIPEC. That must be enough ‘toadying’ for one letter, but I want to offer just one more positive thought: ‘A Porsche is not just for summer!’ Discuss?

Sincerely, Keith Strudwick.

Posted by brulynn Took my 944 S2 into Promax for a full geometry check. What a great firm, really helpful people.

Both front and rear needed adjustment but instead of doing it and then charging a fortune they suggested the front only was done, leaving the back … for as luck, or previous work, would have it, it was already set up for track days!

Posted by tomf When the 996’s battery is totally flat, you have a dead car with no way to lift the bonnet or boot (nice one). Called Martin at Shirley’s in Meridan, who spent 10 minutes on the phone explaining how to get at the release cable using a 5mm Allen key. 10 Minutes later, jump leads on car and engine running. Super service from Martin.

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All Torque 67 page 35

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